Catholic Vancouver November 07, 2023
Bargain price organ gives heavenly music to Aldergrove church
By Nicholas Elbers
A good pipe organ “reflects the joy of the heart,” Sts. Joachim and Ann’s pastor, Father Lawrence Donnelly, says, stepping up the stairs towards the Aldergrove church’s choir loft.
Through the door at the top of the landing, standing amidst a jumble of moving boxes and organ pipes, is the technician responsible for the reconstruction of the parish’s new pipe organ, Marianne Huestis.
Without missing a beat, she brings over a small “oboe” pipe from the mess.
“This metal reed corresponds in length to the wavelength of the sound produced,” she explains, pointing to a thin strip of metal running up the side of the tube.
She jokes that her husband co-opted her into the work in the 1970s when he needed someone to hit the organ keys while he tuned the giant pipes. Fifty years later, she has maintained an infectious enthusiasm for pipe organs and their construction.
Her current project is an impressive piece of engineering. Manufactured in 1954 by well-respected Quebec-based organ-makers Casavant Freres Limitee, the organ is a testament to the company’s skill and commitment. Casavant still makes replacement parts for most of the pipe organs it has produced in its 140-year history.
Sts. Joachim and Ann’s new organ was made in an age when pipe organs were to be heard and not seen. Looking like a giant wooden cabinet bristling with stove pipes, it doesn’t compare visually with the symmetrical array of shiny pipes seen in places like Holy Rosary Cathedral.
But looks are where the comparison ends, and a small puff through one of the organ’s most miniature pipes produces a tone that floats on the air and lingers like incense amongst the rafters.
“It’s going to be beautiful in this space,” Huestis told The B.C. Catholic as she gestured down the centre of the church towards the altar.
The Sts. Joachim and Ann’s organ has three kinds of pipes: square wooden box pipes that have a sound reminiscent of a flute, metal pipes that Huestis likens to whistles, and “oboe” pipes that use wind to vibrate a metal reed to create their sound.
Each pipe sits on what Huestis calls a “wind chest,” a wooden box with holes into which the pipes are inserted. An electric blower in an adjoining room sends pressurized air into the chests, and valves release the air into the pipes when each key is pressed. The pipe’s weight seals it against a leather gasket that prevents air leaks.
Pipes range in size from the 8-foot monolith that produces a low double C, all the way down to the pencil-sized whistle that provides a high-pitched C5. In total, there are 840 pipes, offering a full octave more than is usual for a pipe organ of this construction.
Father Donnelly found the 70-year-old instrument on Craigslist, of all places, when the United Church in Chilliwack put it up for sale after consolidating three churches into one campus.
New pipe organs can run upwards of a hundred thousand dollars, but even so, the $10,000 paid for this well-loved instrument indicates a parish-wide commitment to sacred beauty within the liturgy.
The universal Church has always held the pipe organ in high esteem, Father Donnelly said. The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, gives high praise to the instrument, saying it “adds a powerful splendour to the Church’s ceremonies,” lifting “man’s mind to God and to higher things.”
In terms of musicality, Father Donnelly believes the sustained nature of the notes – as opposed to the percussive sound offered by a piano or guitar – invites the congregation to sing. “It helps with active participation in the liturgy,” he said. “It helps encourage people.”
Heustis hopes to wrap up construction in November, although increased demand for her skills makes it difficult for her to confirm a date. Next week, she is needed at Holy Rosary Cathedral to tune its organ, and then there is a long list of churches and universities that need her services in time for Christmas.