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On October 7, 1984, the McPhail Memorial Church pipe organ was dedicated.
Following a service of dedication, a recital demonstrating the organ's diversity and magnitude of sound
was given by Mr. Malcolm Wechsler, a well-known Canadian organist and choirmaster.
The following is a description of the organ, written by Mr. John Munro, husband
and father of the family that retrofitted and installed the organ in McPhail Memorial Baptist Church.
The McPhail organ began as a small 5-rank organ, which Mr. Albert Neutal, of
Brantford, Ontario, had built as a shop demonstrator. When he left to become vice-president, and later
president, of the prestigious Reuter Organ Co. of Lawrence, Kansas, we purchased the organ as well as
many tools and supplies from him.
The console and swell division, though substantially modified, represent Mr.
Neutal's work while the design, the chamber and the Great and Pedal divisions represent our own work.
We have followed the classical rule that an organ should be located high on
the main axis of the room without impediment to free tonal projection.
The design reflects the Romanesque arch motif repeated throughout the church.
The square and oblong panels of the casework were inspired by the church doors. The façade of the original
organ contained 12 real pipes, which have been reworked and mounted in the Pedal towers as the base octave
of the Praestant 8 stop. When the darkened opaque finish was removed from the casework of the old façade,
we discovered a very valuable resource in the lovely quarter-sawed oak that we have used for the stiles of
the Great casework. Thus, the original organ lives on in the new.
In building the organ, we have tried to reconcile a number of somewhat
contradictory concerns, objectives and attendant problems:
• The musical needs of the church, which include gentle voices to accompany the choir and soloists;
clear, articulate, substantial support for congregational singing; a wide variety of tonal effects and a
wide dynamic range to do justice to organ literature with an instrument of limited size.
• Cost. Current (1984) prices for new organs are from $7,500 to $10,000 per rank; we have managed
to provide ten ranks of new pipe work - six almost new ranks and four recycled ranks at about 1/6th of
the normal current price.
• Acoustics. The reverberation period of the sanctuary is quite short; the carpeted floor and the
ceiling with its many sound traps are negative factors. This required a bright voicing of the Diapason
chorus and reeds. The sanctuary is unfavourable to low frequencies and the Pedal organ needed special
treatment, including the Trumpet 16' to compensate. The chamber walls were made thick and solid to project
low frequencies without absorption.
• Appearance. High quality pipes of "spotted metal", an alloy composed of 52% tin, were chosen for
musical reasons and because of their longevity. The pipes were arranged to provide free tonal projection
and to make low wind pressures possible. It would have been a pity to hide these beautiful pipes from view
and they have been displayed to please the eye as well as the ear. The oak of the casework has been left
in its natural colour, revealing its lovely grain patterns.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact our organist and
choirmaster. Should you wish to hear the instrument, you are most welcome to join us Sunday mornings
at 10:30.
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