Washington Street UMC - Columbia, SC

The major consideration with the renovation of the Washington Street pipe organ was one of space. There were many tonal considerations we entertained but the space simply did not allow a great number of pipe additions without limiting the future serviceability of the instrument.

The Great Division had no 16' Principal stop to counterbalance the 8' Principal harmonic series of the Swell Division. In keeping with traditional Skinner design, the Great Division would contain a 16' Harmonic Series Principal. While it should not be extremely heavy, it does belong as the foundational stop of this major division. This will insure a full bodied complementary registration with divisions coupled.

The 8' harmonic series of the Great was enhanced by allowing the duplexed 8' Clarabella and the 8' Gamba from the Choir organ to play on the Great. The 8' Clarabella is an open wooden flute and provides the perfect complement to the original 8' Capped Metal Flute and the new extension of the Harmonic Flute to the 8' Pitch. The 8' extension of the Harmonic Flute is intended to bridge the harmonic gap between the fundamental Flutes and the 8' String harmonics.

The Pedal was the weakest division in the old organ. It had only a 16' Bourdon, 4' Choral Bass and a Mixture as independent stops. The 8' Principal line in the pedal is a critical component sowe have provided an extension to the 4' Choral Bass to allow the latitude to properly balance this critical element within the division.

The organ is based on the original Skinner windchests which were completely rebuilt. The existing windchests and electro-pneumatic actions were totally disassembled, cleaned, releathered and reassembled. Renovation included replacement of all existing pouch leathers, replacement of all leather buttons and replacement of all components which were compromised in performance as a result of aging.

The winding system had many weaknesses which were corrected in the renovation of the instrument. The most obvious was the condition of many leathers on reservoirs which were simply becoming non-functional in rapid order. All wind reservoirs were releathered and reconditioned to the equal of new.

Specification

Great
16 Principal
8 Diapason
8 Principal
8 Bourdon
8 Flûte Harmonique
8 Clarabella (Ch)
8 Gemshorn
8 Gamba (Ch)
4 Principal
4 Octave
4 Harmonic Flute
2-2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
IV Mixture 1-1/3'
8 Tuba (Ch)
8 Bombarde (Ch)
Tremulant
16 Great to Great
Great Unison Off
4 Great to Great

Choir
16 Gamba
8 Diapason
8 Concert Flute
8 Clarabella
8 Gamba
8 Celeste
8 Dulciana
8 Unda Maris
4 Prestant
4 Flute D'amour
2-2/3 Nazard Rescale Revoice
2 Block Flute
1-3/5 Tierce
III Cymbal 1'
16 Bombarde
8 Bombarde
8 Tuba
8 English Horn
8 Clarinet
Tremulant
16 Choir to Choir
Choir Unison Off
4 Choir to Choir

Antiphonal
8 Principal
8 Gedeckt
8 Salicional
8 Celeste
4 Octave
4 Harmonic Flute
II Grave Mixture
8 Trumpet
Tremulant
Chimes
16 Antiphonal to Antiphonal
Antiphonal Unison Off
4 Antiphonal to Antiphonal

Swell
16 Lieblich Gedeckt
8 Geigen Principal
8 Gedeckt
8 Salicional
8 Voix Celeste
8 Aeoline
4 Principal
4 Traverse Flute
4 Gemshorn
2 Piccolo
III Plein Jeu
16 Fagotto
8 Trumpet
8 Oboe
8 Vox Humana
4 Clarion
Tremulant
16 Swell to Swell
Swell Unison Off
4 Swell to Swell

Antiphonal Pedal
16 Bourdon
8 Principal
8 Gedeckt
4 Principal
4 Gedeckt

Pedal
32 Contra Bourdon
32 Double Open Diapason
16 Open Wood
16 Principal (Gt)
16 Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)
16 Bourdon
16 Gamba (Ch)
16 Gemshorn (Gt)
8 Principal
8 Octave
8 Bourdon
8 Gedeckt (Sw)
8 Gemshorn (Gt)
4 Choral Bass
4 Flute
III Mixture 2-2/3'
32 Contra Bombarde
32 Contra Fagotto (Sw)
16 Bombarde
16 Trombone (Ch)
16 Fagotto (Sw)
8 Bombarde
8 Trombone (Ch)
8 Trumpet (Sw)
8 Fagotto (Sw)
4 Clairon (Sw)
4 Trombone (Ch)