All
Saints Church
10 Irving Street
The Rice Memorial Organ
Aeolian Skinner, Opus 909
1933, 1943, 1951, 1963, 1976, 2000
GREAT–
Manual II
Montre 16
Principal 8’
Flute Harmonique 8’
Bourdon 8’
Gamba 8’
Grosse Quinte 5 1/3’
Octave 4’
Rohrflote 4’
Grosse Tierce 3 1/5’
Quinte 2 2/3’
Doublette 2’
Tierce 1 3/5’
Septieme 1 1/7’
Fourniture IV
Cymbale III
Bombarde 16’
Trompette 8’
Clairon 4’
Unison Off
SWELL– Manual III
Bourdon 16’
Geigen 8’
Rohrflote 8’
Viole de Gambe 8’
Voix Celeste 8’
Flauto Dolce 8’
Flute Celeste (TC) 8’
Geigen Octave 4’
Bourdon 4’
Fugara 4’
Octavin 2’
Plein Jeu VI
Cymbale III
Bombarde 16’
Trompette 8’
Hautbois 8’
Vox Humana 8’
Clarinet 8’
Clairon 4’
Trompette en Chamade (Antiphonal) 8’
Tremulant
Swell 16
Unison Off
Swell 4
CHOIR– Manual I
Gemshorn 16’
Montre 8’
Lieblich Gedackt 8’
Gemshorn 8’
Viola 8’
Viola Celeste 8’
Dulciana 8’
Unda Maris (TC) 8’
Prestant 4’
Lieblich Flote 4’
Nasard 2 2/3’
Piccolo Harmonique 2’
Tierce 1 3/5’
Larigot 1 1/3’
Blockflote 1’
Plein Jeu V
Dulzian 16’
Cromorne 8’
Rohr Schalmei 4’
Trompette a Capot (Antiphonal) 8’
Chimes
Tremulant
Choir 16
Unison Off
Choir 4
POSITIV– Manual I
Gedeckt 8’
Principal 4’
Spillflote 4’
Principal 2’
Nasat 1 1/3’
Cornet (TC) II
Zimbel III
Tremulant
Positiv 16
Unison Off
PEDAL
Soubasse 32’
Contrebasse 16’
Montre 16’ (Great)
Soubasse 16’
Gemshorn 16’ (Choir)
Bourdon 16’ (Swell)
Grosse Quinte 10 2/3’
Principal 8’
Gedackt Pommer 8’
Bourdon 8’ (Swell)
Grosse Tierce 6 2/5’
Quinte 5 1/3’
Septieme 4 4/7’
Octave 4’
Harmonic Flute 4’
Nachthorn 2’
Mixture V
Contre Bombarde 32’
Bombarde 16’
Bombarde 16’ (Great)
Bombarde 8’ (Great)
Trompette 8’
Clairon 4’
Schalmey 4’
Trompette a Capot (Antiphonal) 8’
Chimes
BOMBARDE– Manual IV
Montre 8’
Octave 4’
Fourniture VIII
Bombarde 16’
Trompette Harmonique 8’
Clairon Harmonique 4’
Flute Major 8’
Gamba 8’
Gamba Celeste 8’
French Horn 8’
English Horn 8’
Clarinet 8’ (Swell)
Tuba 8’
Tremulant
Unison Off
ANTIPHONAL– Manual IV
Spitz Geigen 8’
Bourdon 8’
Prestant 4’
Koppelflote 4’
Fifteenth 2’
Plein Jeu IV-V
Trompette en Chamade 16’
Trompette en Chamade 8’
Trompette a Capot 8’
Tuba 8’ (Bombarde)
Unison Off
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The first building of All Saints Church located on Pearl Street, Worcester, was finished in 1846 and furnished with an organ. As it was still only partially paid for by 1853, the organ “was claimed by the owner, and removed.” Later that same year it was replaced at a cost of $600.00. Research has failed to reveal who built the first two organs. The third, a two-manual tracker, was the product of William A. Johnson, Opus 163, installed when the building was enlarged in 1864. Unfortunately the Johnson organ was destroyed by fire on Easter Tuesday 1874. The second building of All Saints was built on the corner of Pleasant and Irving Streets in 1877. Under the direction of Choirmaster Isaac N. Metcalf, the Saint Cecilia Club raised $920.57 toward an organ; insurance on the Johnson organ paid $2,377.70. The new organ, built by Hutchings, Plaisted & Co., Opus 66, 1876, was a three-manual instrument of 46 registers at a cost of $6,858.07 “for organ and motor.” (Hutchings, Plaisted & Co. supplied their Opus 66a, 1876, a 1-11 for the Chapel of All Saints.) In 1912, the church used a bequest of $2,000.00 “to install an electric motor for the main organ, together with essential wiring.”
In 1923, Mrs. Lucy Draper Rice offered the church a new organ in memory of her husband, William Ellis Rice. The three manual-instrument, built by E. M. Skinner, Opus 406, 1923, was dedicated May 18, 1924. On January 20, 1932, both the church and organ were destroyed by fire.
Aeolian-Skinner supplied a three-manual organ (Opus 895, 1932) for temporary use in Huntington Hall until a new building could be finished. Aeolian-Skinner’s Opus 897, 1932, a 2-rank practice organ, was installed in the Choir Room. Opus 909, 1933, was installed in the new church building which opened for worship on Easter Sunday 1934.
Changes and additions to the organ, designed by William Self in cooperation with G. Donald Harrison, were made in the years 1940 to 1943, delayed in completion because of World War II. Albert W. Rice, son of William and Lucy Rice, made the improvements possible. Additional alterations were made by Mr. Harrison in subsequent years and at one time more than 1,500 pipes were removed to the Aeolian-Skinner factory in Boston for revoicing or replacement. In 1951, the original enclosed Bombarde division was completely revised and the shutters removed.
The Antiphonal Organ was added in 1963, built under the direction of Joseph Whiteford of Aeolian-Skinner. Gilbert F. Adams did the tonal finishing. In 1967, Mrs. Mary Gage Rice gave a new console in memory of her husband Albert, who died in 1965. In 1975, Mrs. Rice gave a new pair of horizontal Trumpets, provided by the Berkshire Organ Co. Berkshire also made some other tonal modifications in 1976 at the suggestion of William Self. David W. Cogswell of Berkshire designed the new mixture scales and composition with voicing by Judd Fitzgerald, a former voicer for Aeolian-Skinner.
By the late 1990s, the pneumatic switching system controlling the organ was showing signs of constant use, and needed either complete restoration or replacement. Through the generosity of the Leonard H. White Family, the church engaged Southfield Organ Builders of Springfield, who re-outfitted the console with new solid state equipment. Keyboards and cabinetry were restored and the entire organ was rewired in compliance with the National Electrical Code. At the same time, several ranks of pipes that had been removed over the years were recreated (following Aeolian-Skinner shop notes) to enrich the tonal palette of the instrument.
In the 1930s, orchestral colors (English Horn, French Horn, Solo Flute, Solo Strings) were considered indispensable in a large organ. The All Saints organ was a site for experimentation and development by Aeolian-Skinner of alternate sounds such as the French Bombarde reeds and large mixtures.
In the Rice Memorial Organ one can trace the entire twentieth century pendulum swing of organ building tastes. The orchestral sounds once present have been re-created while the “classic” additions of French reeds and mixtures have been preserved as well. The result is an organ of unusual variety, great power, clarity and brilliance. The re-dedication of the Rice Memorial Organ of four manuals and pedal, 7 divisions, 135 ranks and over 7,000 pipes took place during the Lenten Recital Series 2000.
The two manual Choir Room organ, Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 897, 1932, had fallen prey to vandalism and water damage rendering it unusable for the last quarter century. In 1996, Timothy E. Smith refurbished the instrument to playable condition.
Joyce Hokans. Compiled from writings of Alan Laufman for the Organ Historical Society, 1983, and The NorthEast Organist, 1996; and Timothy E. Smith, Organ Consultant.
