A Brief History of our Pipe Organ

Over the course of a century, Christ Church, Bronxville has built a reputation for presenting music and liturgy according to the highest standards in the Anglican tradition. A first-rate music program and a high standard of liturgy require an organ that can both lead a congregation in hymn-singing and accompany choirs as well as facilitate the concert organ repertoire. Christ Church’s original instrument, built by the Hall Organ Company, served the church for twenty years before mechanical problems forced the decision to rebuild. The Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company rebuilt the organ in 1949 and modified it again in 1956. In 1962 the Gress-Miles Organ Company revoiced the entire organ, at which point most organ scholars and historians would suggest the organ was no longer an Aeolian-Skinner.

By the 1990s, organ maintenance costs plagued the church budget and began to interfere with the weekly liturgy – pipes ciphered, portions of the instrument couldn’t be played, or the instrument wouldn’t function at all. By 2004 Christ Church was forced to make a decision about the organ. An analysis of the existing pipe organ revealed that for substantially the same investment as refurbishing it, Christ Church could design and build a new instrument tailor-made to the needs of the parish’s music program. In November of 2007 Christ Church chose the firm of Casavant Frères of St. Hyacinthe, Québec to build a new instrument. In formulating the specification for the new organ, the needs and practices of Anglican liturgy - the ability to accompany choirs and lead the congregation in robust hymn-singing - was their guide. Additionally, the new instrument would need to execute major concert organ repertoire with convincing style and musicality. The final design encompasses a four-manual organ in the front of the church, and a smaller, prepared-for Antiphonal division in the gallery, to support hymn singing.

The core of the instrument, the Great division, is located closely behind the main organ case so that its pipes can sing clearly into the church with beautiful and natural tone.  The Swell division is a quintessential accompanying instrument – it contains every sound that one would expect to use to accompany choral anthems and Anglican chant. Two staples of the English organ sound, the Oboe and Tuba, absent from any incarnation of the former organ, are a vital and integral part of the new instrument. 

When possible, efforts were made to retain pipework from the former organ. These stops were able to fit into the new tonal palette and aesthetic without compromise. Similarly, two carving details on the exterior console panels honor individuals who have made extraordinary donations to the organ project.  A Nittany Lion honors parishioners and avid Penn State fans Arthur and Paige Nagle, and the scale of justice within a courthouse is a tribute to The Honorable Colleen McMahon, parishioner and musician at Christ Church for over 30 years.  

Christ Church received Casavant Frère’s unassembled Opus 3878 in September 2009 and on Christmas Eve that year the congregation bore witness to the successful completion of this monumental five-year project. The Right Reverend Mark Sisk, Bishop of New York, dedicated the instrument at a service of Solemn Evensong on January 31, 2010, and a dedicatory recital was given on May 7 by American concert organist Ken Cowan.