St. Agatha Catholic Church - Upper Arlington, OH - 2/43 Bedient

St. Agatha Catholic Church - 2/43 Bedient

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Great Division

Swell Division

Facade

St. Agatha Catholic Church
Upper Arlington, OH
2/43 Bedient
Opus 75 - 2005

Swell Division

Swell

The white box behind the pipes in the photo above is the Swell Division of this organ. The vertical white lines are actually the swell shutter doors which are in the open position. The Swell is used to create dynamic or volume expression by the organist. Since pipes speak at a constant volume, opening and closing the shutters allows the organist to change the volume.

	As noted elsewhere in this pipe organ profile, organ builder Bedient Pipe Organ Company was very creative in how they put this organ together. Another one of these creative ideas was to more or less put "wings" or "ears" on the Swell box (the white extensions on either side toward the top). This allowed Bedient to include the 16' Basson pipes inside the box. These pipes "speak" from the top end of the pipe, the part of the pipe which is inside the box.
	One accesses the Swell box by a opening a sliding door similar to how a sliding glass door works. A door is located on either side of the Swell box. Immediately in front of the door opening is this view. I find it easier to identify pipe ranks by pointing out the board they are in. In the far left board is the 8' Viole de Gambe, then on the wide board just to the right of it is the 2' Octavin and 2 2/3' Nazard ranks. The skinny board in the middle hosts the 1 3/5' Tierce rank, and finally the wide board on the right has the 8' Trompette rank. Note on the Tierce rank the numbers on the pipe board to serve as a guide.
	Looking up inside the Swell box we see the tallest pipes making their presence known. The two tall sets of pipes in the middle are from the 8' Trompette rank. Then the pipes on either side with the red tuning sleeve are the 8' Viole de Gambe rank. Right behind these pipes are a wood pipe rank which I believe are the 8' Violin Diapason. The Bourdon rank is largely hidden, though one pipe is visible (pipe on the right with the knob sticking out the top).
	Here's the same view but from the opposite side of the Swell box. Note in the center rear toward the top the black box for the swell shutter control. Next to it are the 16' Basson pipes poking their heads inside of the Swell box, a very clever idea by Bedient.
	Here's a better view of the pipes in the front of the Swell box. The Swell shutters are plainly seen, as are the pipes in the facade in front of the Swell. The tall pipes in the Swell are from the 8' Trompette, 8' Viole De Gambe, 8' Voix Celeste (tall wood pipes), and possibly a pipe from the 8' Hautbois rank.
	Here's a view towards the front of the Swell box from the left (or from the right side of the church looking forward). Note the paint on the front of the Swell shutters. The wood around the facade is also visible.
	Looking to the back of the Swell box we see the 8' Viole de Gambe (red stripe on the tuning sleeve), 8' Voix Celeste (tall wood pipes), 8' Hautbois, and against the back wall is the 8' Violin Diapason rank.
	Here's a better view of the pipes in the back from the opposite side. This also gives a better view of the 8' Hautbois rank (skinny metal pipes on the right with the small tuning tab).
	Looking back down we again see some of the smaller pipes in the Swell. Note the oddly shaped 4' Flute Octaviante rank with the "chimney" sticking out of the top of the pipe.
	Toward the front we see a number of different ranks represented. Note the many sizes and shapes of the different ranks.