The Taylor & Boody Organ

Saint Clement is fortunate to have two fine mechanical action pipe organs in the upper church.  In 2005 Saint Clement acquired a magnificent five-stop portative organ built by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders of Staunton, Virginia. This small movable pipe organ is used primarily in the front of the church to accompany cantors, choirs and instrumentalists during the liturgy, as well serving as a complement to the larger main organ in leading hymn singing and other service music. The Taylor & Boody organ is also used as a continuo instrument in concerts with orchestra.

Constructed by hand from the finest woods and metals, the instrument was built according to historic organ building principles, with a keyboard of boxwood and ebony, and a case of superbly carved white oak. The organ stands about 3-1/2 feet tall, 2 feet deep and, 3-2/3 feet wide, and weighs about 200 pounds. Manual compass is 51 notes. The case was designed to reflect many of the symbols and architectural elements of the Saint Clement church building, and features beautiful hand carvings on three sides.

The most essential part of any organ is its sound, and this one is no exception — the sounds in the Taylor & Boody organ range from sweet and gentle to brilliant and sparkling. Each sound has been voiced with utmost care, and even with only five stops, the combinations are varied and plentiful. The instrument's pipework features tuning sleeves, permitting the organ to be tuned in a variety of temperaments. In addition to several large instruments, Taylor & Boody have built many similar continuo organs in recent years, most notably for Harvard, Yale and Rutgers Universities, and for Saint Thomas Church in New York City.

The Taylor & Boody organ specification is as follows:

          Gedackt 8 (wood)
          Blockflöte 4 (wood)
          Principal 2 (metal)
          Quinte 1-1/3 (metal)
          Sesquialtera II (metal, from middle c)

 
The keyboard is transposable to two pitch levels: A-440 and A-415. A-440 is the standard pitch at which most music today is performed. A-415 is used primarily with period instruments in early music.

Click here to download a brochure about the Taylor & Boody organ.

The Casavant Organ

Built in 1983, the main organ was built by the Canadian firm of Casavant Frères in St. Hyacinthe, Québec, and installed in the church's rear gallery. The organ's tonal design was conceived by Jean-Louis Coignet, and final voicing was done by Yves Champagne and Michel Jacques.

The organ has mechanical stop action and suspended mechanical key action, and comprises twenty stops (27 ranks/1396 pipes) over two manuals and pedal. Manual compass is 56 notes, and pedal 30 notes. The hand-made casework is solid oak; manual natural keys are made of ebony, with sharps of rosewood capped with ivory; pedal naturals are made of maple, with sharps of rosewood. The façade pipes are 70% polished tin, and the organ's wind pressure is 80mm throughout. The Casavant organ was originally tuned in an unequal temperament modified from Werkmeister III. In 2008 the temperament was changed to Kellner.

GRAND-ORGUE Montre 8 Flûte à cheminée 8 Prestant 4 Flûte conique 4 Doublette 2 Fourniture V Douçaine 16 Trompette 8

POSITIF (expressif) Bourdon 8 Prestant 4 Flûte à fuseau 4 Nasard 2 2/3 Quarte de nasard 2 Tierce 1 3/5 Cymbale IV Hautbois 8 Tremblant

PÉDALE Soubasse 16 Octavebasse 8 Octave 4 Bombarde 16 GO/Ped Pos/Ped Pos/GO Zimbelstern

Click here to download a brochure about the Casavant organ.

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Listen to the Casavant Organ

To listen to our sound examples, you need Apple QuickTime. Download it for FREE by clicking below.



Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata No. 4 in B-flat major

1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante religioso
3. Allegretto
4. Allegro maestoso

Organist Stephen Tharp
from Naxos CD 8.553583
Mendelssohn Organ Sonatas 1-6

Peter Mathews: Last Song of Summer
Günther Rafael: Sonata for Violoncello and Organ – Vivace molto
Camille Saint-Saëns: Prière, Op. 158
Joseph Jongen: Humoresque, Op. 92

Organist Randall Swanson and Cellist Donald Moline
from Dorian CD DIS-80148
The Last Song of Summer / Romantic Music for Cello and Organ

 

Taylor & Boody Organ

Elaborate carvings cover the openings on the front and sides of the organ case, protecting the delicate pipework inside, but also letting sound emanate from three sides of the instrument for best sound distribution in the building.


The carvings on the organ feature Christian symbols and architectural features found elsewhere in the church building. The carvings were designed and executed by Robbie Lawson at the Taylor & Boody shop in Staunton, Virginia.


Detail of the Saint Clement insignia on the central panel. The words ECCLESIA SANCTI CLEMENTIS — Church of Saint Clement is patterned after the mosaic next to the main door outside the church rectory.


A side view features carvings of leaves, sea shells, and — in the middle — four Greek letters which represent Christ. In the very center is the Chi Rho, formed of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P). Of the several sacred monograms of Christ, the Chi Rho is one of the most ancient. These are the first letters of the Greek word "XPICTOC" (pronounced Christos), which means "Christ." On either side of the Chi Rho in this carving, we also see the Alpha (A) and the Omega (0). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, referring to the eternal nature of Christ.


A close-up showing stop levers and keyboard.


The organ under construction in the Taylor & Boody shop.


Looking down into the Taylor & Boody organ. On the left, the longest pipes lie on their sides — these are the lowest pipes of the Gedackt stop. The metal (mostly tin) pipes in the center are those for the Sesquialtera stop, and those on the right are for the Pincipal and Quinte stops. Each stop has its own particular sound quality and pitch level.

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Casavant Organ

View of the manuals (keyboards) and pedal board. The manual natural keys are made of ebony, with sharps of rosewood capped with legally acquired ivory; pedal board naturals are made of maple, with sharps of rosewood. In the center of the picture is the expression pedal, which controls the opening and closing of the shades on the Positif division of the organ, which is located at the very top of the case. The gold levers on either side of the expression pedal control the Zimbelstern and the various manual and pedal couplers.


The façade pipes are 70% polished tin, and the organ's wind pressure is 80mm throughout.


Detail of the Casavant organ case, which is hand crafted of solid oak.