Restoring Austin, Op. 1074
(1922, 1956, 2023)

In her first century of service to Grace and St. Peter’s Church, the Austin Organ, Op. 1074 has

supported more than 10,000 liturgies. From Choral Mattins to Solemn High Mass, school services and Benediction, Choral Evensong and Requiems, this instrument has helped to raise the hearts and voices of countless of the faithful seeking to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Built in the wake of the Great War, Op. 1074 has soothed the weary and consoled the brokenhearted. At other times, she has enlivened the hearts of parishioners on this corner of Park Avenue and Monument, who, for a century, have defied societal norms by welcoming immigrants, taking a stand for integration, offering a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people, and supporting our neighbors in need.

Opus 1074 has also witnessed – and endured – the swinging pendulum of organ aesthetics in the last century. Originally built at the height of the American Symphonic tradition, by the middle of the twentieth century, the dark, brooding, and fiery character of the Austin organ had fallen out of favor. Work was undertaken by the Austin firm in 1956 to align the instrument with the newly-in-vogue Baroque aesthetics of the Organ Reform Movement. Colorful symphonic stops like the Tuba and Flute Celeste were removed to make way for new high-pitched mutation stops. The brawny 16’ Double Open Diapason was scrapped in favor of a milder 16’ Quintadena. The scalings of the Principal stops were diminished and the second set of expression shades inside the swell were removed.

By the late 1990s, frustration boiled over at the instrument’s lack of power. The Lewis and

Hitchcock firm of Washington, D.C. added a Grand Chorus division behind the façade of the case in an effort to project more sound into the nave. Additionally, the Trumpet en Chamade was added to the West wall of the church. This division was noticeably bolder and brighter than the rest of the organ. While sufficiently achieving their respective goals, the long-term result of both of these tonal revisions was an instrument at war with itself. A century of wear and tear on the console and internal mechanisms was further throttling the voice of the instrument.

Aided by a leadership legacy from longtime parishioners Jim and Kathy Forcum, the Organ

Committee carefully considered proposals from three major organ companies, ultimately

contracting Austin Organs to complete a tonal and mechanical restoration of their century-old instrument. Charged with restoring the aesthetic unity and functional integrity of the organ, the Austin firm undertook an ambitious scheme to replace hundreds of individual note actions and thousands of feet of wire in addition to building a new state-of-the-art console. Mercifully, many of the pipes removed during the 1956 revision were retained by the church and have been returned to their rightful place in the chamber. The Principal pipes have been rescaled to their original specification and every reed pipe has received much-needed attention. The results speak for themselves.

This extensive restoration project would not have been possible without the astonishing generosity of members, friends of the parish, our Mount Vernon neighbors, and the Wyncote Foundation. Together, these gifts and grants have restored an American treasure to her former glory and secured the future of great sacred music in this church for another century. May all those who cross our threshold to lift their voices with Op. 1074 be gratified by this instrument’s unwavering voice, leading the faithful in their worship of Almighty God, from one generation to another.