HOLY NAME OF JESUS RC Church

M. P. Moller
Opus 2157

Hagerstown, Maryland: 1917
Moved from Upper Gallery and Altered: 1961
Refurbished by Nobscot Organ Works, Framingham, Mass.: 1999-2001
III/ 24 EP


PRESENT SPECIFICATION-1358 pipes


GREAT left side *denotes unenclosed stops
8* Principal 61 zinc & spotted metal pipes, 17 en facade 1961
8 Doppel Floete Choir
8 Melodia Choir
8 Dulciana Choir
4* Principal 61 zinc & spotted metal pipes 2001
4 flute d' Amour Choir
2* Fifteenth extension
1* Mixture III 183 spotted metal pipes 1961


CHOIR left side, enclosed
8 Doppel Floete 61 double-mouth stopped wood pipes 1917
8 Melodia 61 open wood pipes - 1917
8 Dulciana 61 zinc & spotted metal pipes 1917
8 Unda Maris 49 spotted metal pipes 1917
4 Flute d' Amour 61 stopped wood & common metal pipes 1917
2 2/3 Nasard 49 tapered spotted imetal pipes - 2001
8 Clarinet 61 reed pipes (common metal) 1917
Tremolo


SWELL right side, enclosed
16 Bourdon 61 stopped wood pipes 1917
8 Violin Diapason 12 wood pipes, 49 common metal pipes 1917/2001
8 Stopped Diapason extension: 12 common metal pipes 1917
8 Viol d'Orchestra 61 zinc & spotted metal pipes 1917/2001
8 Viol Celeste 49 spotted metal pipes 1917/2001
4 Principal 61 spotted metal pipes 2001
4 Harmonic Flute 61 common metal pipes 1917/2001
2 Piccolo extension: 12 common metal pipes 1917
8 Cornopean 61 reed pipes (common metal) 1920/2001
8 Oboe 61 reed pipes (common metal) 1917
8 Vox Humana 61 reed pipes (common metal) 1917/2001
Tremolo


PEDAL both sides
16 Open Wood 15 0pen Wood pipes 1917/2001
16 Bourdon 30 wood pipes 1917
16 Lieblich Gedeckt reduction valve on Bourdon
8 Diapason 32 open zinc & common metal pipes 1917/1961
4 Choral Bass extension: 12 common metal pipes 1917/1961

ABOUT THE ORGAN...
The most prolific of all American firms, M. P. Moller built over 12,000 organs in roughly a
century beginning in the 1880's. This organ was their 2157th, built in 1917 and installed in a
second gallery around the rose window. After a fire in the altar end of the church in 1961,
the building was redecorated; the rear gallery was removed at that time and the organ
relocated to the lower gallery.

In 1961, painstaking effort reconstructed the organ as it had been, but with several changes.
A new supply-house console was installed. In the Swell, the 8' Comopean was discarded and
replaced with a small-scale Clarion 4'. The Vox Humana was reinstalled but never connected
and so was unplayable. In the Great, the 8' First Open Diapason was removed to become a
pedal stop, replaced with the 1' Mixture. A new Diapason was installed. The massive 16'
Pedal Open Wood was reinstalled missing the smallest pipes, and so was never connected
(despite the pipes being fully winded and wired!).

By 1998 the organ suffered from numerous dead notes. Monsignor Joseph Sirois contacted
Timothy Smith to bring the organ back to playable condition. A Moller Swell 8' Cornopean
from 1920 was purchased and restored to return the Swell organ to its original scale; the 4'
Clarion was sold. The Swell 8' Vox Humana was re-actioned and removed from its solid
wood enclosure. The Great Principal 4' was in poor shape, so was discarded in favor of a
new rank. The Pedal 16' Open Wood was extended for 4 wood pipes, then wired in to play
the bottom of the Pedal Principal so that the benefit of the huge pipes could be
appreciated. A third string rank in the Swell (Aeoline) was rescaled to provide a 4' Principal
stop. An 8' Viola in the Choir was moved to the Swell, rescaled and revoiced; a 2 2/3'
Nasard replaced the Choir stop for added color.

All of the note actions were releathered, repairs have been made to primary actions; and
numerous miscellaneous repairs were made by Nobscot Organ Works. All 244 reed pipes
have been restored by A. R. Schopp's Sons of Alliance, Ohio. Theodore Gilbert of
Wilbraham, Mass., fitted most of the flue pipes with new slide tuners, repaired damaged
cone-tuned pipes, and revoiced or regulated the stops designated with 1917/2001.

 

HOLY NAME OF JESUS RC Church, Illinois St., Worcester, was established in 1893 as an
offshoot of the Franco-Canadien Mother Church, Notre-Dame de Canadien in downtown
Worcester which was founded in 1869. It was founded to accommodate the large number of
emigrants from Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Canada. The architect was Onesime
Nault, who also designed other French Catholic churches in the area, including St. Joseph
Church in Worcester. The complex included a grade school begun in 1885 and closed in
1977, and a high school opened in 1942 and classified as a central Catholic high school in
1957, wIth a new campus in 1967 on Granite St. across from St. Annes Orphanage,
conducted by the Grey Nuns of Montreal, whose roots were entwined with the Holy Name
schools.

Timothy Edward Smith is Music Director and organist of First Parish in
Framingham and Holy Name of Jesus Church. In Framingham, he directs a
program with nearly one hundred volunteers in six choirs. He has previously served
churches as Associate Music Director in Chicago, New York City, Nashville and
Boston. He is also active in organ design and refurbishment with Nobscot Organ
Works based in Framingham. A frequent recitalist for the Organ Historical Society,
ha has appeared twice with The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa,
several of the performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio. He
earned degrees in organ performance and church music from Wheaton College
(Illinois), Northwestern University, and Boston Conservatory of Music.