Emmanuel Catholic Church - Dayton, OH

Emmanuel Catholic Church - 3/35 Felgemaker

Emmanuel Catholic Church
Dayton, OH
3/35 Felgemaker
Opus 476 - 1887-2015

Photos of the Console

Click on the photo to see a larger image

The console for this organ sits in a fixed position in the center of the loft. This organ has had four consoles with the original in service from 1887 until 1918 when the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, OH electrified the organ and installed a new detached organ (meaning it was not physically connected to the organ case). The 1918 console was replaced in 1965 by the AW Brandt Organ Company of Columbus, OH. Due to changes to the organ and general wear and tear, this console was then replaced with the current console in 2015.

	Before we get to the console, here's the view of the sanctuary from the organist's bench. The second level is about 40' above the seating below. Any organist who plays in this space cannot have a fear of heights!
	The console consists of three manuals or keyboards plus the pedal board. This is the fourth console in this instrument's history. The consoles take a lot of wear and tear over the years and often need to be rebuilt. This console was built by Austin Organs of Hartford, CT originally for their opus 1687 installed in St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Vernon, OH. Austin consoles are known for their durability and are often used as replacement consoles for other organ builders. Most Austin consoles have stop tabs instead of draw knobs.
	Here's the organist's view of the console from the bench. The buttons under the keys are thumb pistons which allow the organist to preset registrations either across the entire organ or for a specific organ division.


Above the manuals are the stop tabs. Stop tabs control ranks of pipes or can couple divisions of the organ together. The tabs are grouped by division (Great, Swell, Choir and Pedal). A "prepared" Sanctuary division is also present in the right photo. On each tab is the stop name and a number which represents the speaking pitch of the rank. Some of the stop tabs are in German, giving reference to the original organ builder, Felgemaker, who was of German descent.


Here's the view below the manuals. Each of the fixtures is called a toe stud and has a corresponding button on the manuals with the same name. They allow the organist to preset registrations in advance and the select with a tap of the toe. On the left are the General toe studs which set stops on the entire organ, and on the right are toe studs specifically for the Pedal division, as well as divisional couplers and "Full Organ" or Szforzando. In the center photo, the left and center pedal operate the expression shutters for the respective chambers, and the right pedal is the crescendo. The further down any of the pedals are pressed, the louder the volume by either opening the shutters or, in the case of the crescendo, adding more ranks.

	Old meets new! While some pipes in the organ are over 100 years old, the electronics are definitely 21st century. This photo shows memory level, transposer (allow pitch to be moved higher or lower), position of the pedal shoes (indicating that Choir and Swell are fully open and the Crescendo is at 0), and other items including MIDI functionality.
	Peebles-Herzog (and its predecessor AW Brandt and Company) has maintained this organ for a number of years. The company primarily rebuilds and restores organs, as well as perform regular organ maintenance.

Emmanuel Catholic Church - 3/35 Felgemaker

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