Pipe organ gets a new sound

YAKIMA, Wash. -- This may be slightly unseemly, since it is a house of worship, after all, but this organ might just blow your socks off.

Englewood Christian Church has completed major additions and renovations to its pipe organ, fulfilling an aspiration that began some 45 years ago.

"It's more than what we even dreamed," said the Rev. David Helseth.

"It's just wonderful," Sharlene Sloop, church organist, observed. "I loved it before, and now I love it even more."

"I'm smiling ear to ear," added Roger Finch, choir director.

The source of their enthusiasm is a Casavant pipe organ, purchased in 1965 when the sanctuary, located at 511 N. 44th Ave., was built. The total price of the renovation was $187,000.

All three say the restored instrument adds a greater dimension to the worship service.

They point to its new lustrous sound -- deep, rich and powerful, yet delicate and soothing -- befitting the likes of J.S. Bach. Anyone sitting in the choir loft, with pipes fully resonating a few feet away, will be enthralled and perhaps a bit overwhelmed. It's a grandeur that envelops the entire building.

Finch explained that pipe organs, which have been played for more than 2,000 years, originally required a hard-working boy, pumping wind from a bellows into the pipes to create sound. Most all pipe organs now have replaced the woeful boy with an electric blower.

When the original Englewood organ was installed, the plan was to update the instrument as more money was raised. But that didn't happen as quickly as some people hoped.

Basically, for years, as the congregation waited for funding, the organ was a serviceable, but unfinished, product. Think of it as a basement without a foundation, Helseth said.

But, with the renovation complete, the original organ, which had some 1,100 pipes, now has more than 2,000, ranging in size from smaller than a pencil to 16 feet tall. That has exponentially added to the number and types of sounds it can evoke.

Pipes are organized into sets or stops, activated by pulling a knob on the console where the organist sits.

While the Englewood organ always had 40 knobs, only 20 actually had pipes attached. Now it has the full complement.

Because no two pipes sound alike, that means the organ has gained louder and softer sounds, as well as more diverse ones such as horn and flute tones.

And, as Finch pointed out, it gives new meaning to the phrase "pulling all the stops," which comes from an organist who opens up all the knobs, thus flooding a room with sound.

Because the organ now has so many more options and sounds, "it's sort of like learning to drive again," said Sloop, who has played organ for 45 years. She's enjoying the challenge, though. "Anybody would be happy to play this."

The Richard Bond Organ Co. of Portland began the renovation last fall, installing pipes and completely gutting the console to computerize it.

With one exception, the work went without any major problems. But who could have planned for an aviary?

The exception came when Finch and a renovator were working together in the choir loft and were suddenly dive bombed by a barn owl. The bird had apparently flown in while supplies were being carried up to the belfry and had nested there. (Either that or it was a particularly musical owl.)

"It scared the daylights out of us," said Finch.

The owl, however, was only a minor interruption.

The $187,000 cost was a relative bargain because the renovator used pipes recycled from other organs for the project, Helseth said.

It would have been significantly cheaper to complete the organ when it had been installed 40 years earlier, but the congregation wasn't of a like mind about the instrument at the time.

There were two factions back then, said Finch. "There was the 'Let's build a honker of an organ no matter what it costs,' and the other group that said, 'It's going to cost HOW much?'"

The situation was further complicated because some members expressed doubts over whether any more money should be spent on an organ when there are hungry, needy people in the area.

The church, which has about 100 active members and is affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, is strongly committed to helping the poor, Finch explained.

So the organ dilemma was basically unresolved until just a few years ago when several members, who had left bequests in their wills to complete the organ, passed away.

These were acts of great generosity from people who were committed to seeing the organ project reach fruition, Helseth said.

"They gave knowing that they would never get to hear it," he noted.

Others donated money, also, until the entire project was a go.

To allay the misgivings of those who felt the expenditure was too large, Helseth addressed the issue of balancing targeted gifts while keeping the mission of the church in the forefront.

"I said in a sermon that what we're doing with the organ is wonderful, but if we're not caring for the homeless, what our real work is, then all this is meaningless," Helseth explained.

(Englewood has served as a shelter for homeless men every night for the last two winters.)

When the organ was dedicated at a service in February, it was evident how flawless the church acoustics are, Helseth said. "This sanctuary was designed for an organ like this; the architect had acoustics in mind."

Several public concerts featuring out-of-town organists are planned over the next year. "This church does a lot of music," Finch noted.

And the new organ will enhance those programs. "We're super excited about this," Finch added.

* Jane Gargas can be reached at 509-577-7690 or jgargas@yakimaherald.com.