Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church

Music, musical instruments, and musicians have long been an important part of the history of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church! The following is an article about MAPC's organs and organists during the 20th Century written by Dr. John Weaver, now MAPC's Director of Music & Organist Emeritus. Dr. Weaver wrote the article at the conclusion of the "Fund for Renewal," the church's capital campaign which provided funds for the beautiful revitalization and renovation of MAPC's sanctuary.

Further information and photographs concerning MAPC's former pipe organs, along with the instruments belonging to the former congregations that merged to create MAPC in 1899, can be found on the New York City AGO Chapter's website.

A Brief History of the Organs & Organists of the Church

by Dr. John Weaver, Director of Music & Organist Emeritus, 2000
(ed. Andrew Henderson, 2009)

The merging of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church with the Phillips Presbyterian Church resulted in the construction of the present building at 73rd Street in 1899. A modest 3-manual Hook and Hastings pipe organ was installed. This instrument served as the basis for a large four-manual organ constructed in 1923 by Casavant Frères of Sainte Hyacinthe, Quebec, as their Opus 1000. Interestingly, the great Italian organist, Fernando Germani, used its stoplist as the sole example of North American organ building in his published treatise on representative instruments from around the world. The legendary Dr. Seth Bingham designed this instrument and presided over this organ for much of his term as the church's Director of Music from 1913 until his retirement in 1951. The Rev. Robert Lee succeeded Bingham with his wife, Dorothy, serving as organist. In 1961 the old instrument was replaced by an entirely new organ, also by Casavant Frères, Opus 2660, designed by Lawrence Phelps in conjunction with George Markey, who had just succeeded the Lees. John Weaver succeeded Dr. Markey in 1970. Upon Dr. Weaver's retirement after 35 distinguished years of service to MAPC, Andrew Henderson became Director of Music & Organist in July, 2005.

A few changes and additions have subsequently been made since the new organ was installed in 1961. In 1968 new pipes from the M. P. Möller Co. replaced the Swell reed chorus because the Casavant reeds, being on very low wind pressure, would not stay in tune. In the mid-1970s, the Great 2' Doublette was converted into a 1 3/5' Tierce, making a very strong Sesquialtera with the 2 2/3' Quint (the stoplist still shows four 2' manual stops). Peterson electric motors replaced the pneumatic swell motors in 1996.

In 2000, as a result of the Fund for Renewal, we were able to make several major additions to the range and power of the instrument. Three additional stops (Great 8' Open Diapason, Choir 8' Principal and Pedal 16' Open Diapason) were added by the Schantz Organ Company, and three digital voices (Great 16' Bourdon, Pedal 32' Open Wood and 16' Open Wood) were added by Walker Technical Company. In addition, Schantz provided a new console, located in the center of the chancel on a lift. The console takes advantage of the latest technology, and its location is ideal for conducting the choir. The organ now has a total of 73 ranks and 4,194 pipes, not including the three digital voices by Walker. Both the Swell and the Choir divisions are enclosed with the exception of the 8' Bombarde and 8' Principal in the Choir. A generous assortment of couplers and pistons also contributes to the organ's unusual flexibility. It is installed across the front of the church on three levels, most of the pipes being hidden by acoustic cloth and an ornate oak frame. The three new ranks of pipes added in 2000 are mounted in front of the screen.

Originally, the blower was installed in the basement right next to the steam room, resulting in the instrument having severe tuning problems and leather failure after only ten years of service. In 1972, Ronald C. Bishop was engaged to re-leather the entire organ. At his recommendation, the blower was relocated to an area with normal interior temperatures resulting in a vastly improved stability to the tuning of the whole organ. During that period, many thought that Perflex, a synthetic alternative to the use of leather in electro-pneumatic organs, would be the answer to the increasingly short life of traditional leather. This was a time at which the air quality of most large cities was also contributing to leather failure. Mr. Bishop guaranteed the Perflex for an astonishing 15 years. When it began to fail in 1977, just five years later, he assumed the complete releathering of the instrument without any charge to the church. The organ is serviced and tuned by John Gulick, who has provided much of the maintenance on the instrument since 1978!

Tonally, the instrument is typical of the work of Casavant during that period. Lawrence Phelps was relatively new to the company as Tonal Director. He completely revised the sound concept of their tonal ensemble primarily by lowering wind pressures, reducing the scale of the foundation stops, and increasing the quantity and brilliance of the upperwork. When new, this organ was almost universally ridiculed as being much too brilliant; however, many subsequent installations have proved that it was simply ahead of its time. The six stops added in 2000 have given the instrument a more solid tonal foundation for 19th and 20th Century music.

Casavant Frères, Opus 2660 (1961)

Schantz Organ Company, console & additions (2000)

MIDI BALANCED PEDALS
(3) Choir, Swell, Crescendo

PISTONS
8 local thumb pistons for Swell, Great and Choir
8 toe stud pistons for Pedal.
10 general pistons (thumb and toe)
4 General Pistons (thumb only)

REVERSIBLES
(Thumb and Toe)   Sw.>Ped.   Gt.>Ped.   Ch.>Ped.   Full Organ
(Thumb)   Sw.>Gt.   Ch.>Gt.   Sw.>Ch
(Toe)   32' Bombardon   32' Soubasse   32' Open Wood

TOTAL NUMBER OF PIPES
4194 + 3 Digital Voices

*Installed in August 2000 by Schantz Organ Co.
New Console by Schantz, May 2000