World-class Organ

REMOVAL

January 2021

To prevent further damage following the water main break, Saint Peter’s Sanctuary Organ was disassembled and removed. Crates were built on site to fit and organize the exact pieces of the organ and prepare them for transportation. Here the Dulcian is being brought down and packed. 

REMOVAL

January 2021

The instrument was disassembled piece by piece as a part of an emergency treatment plan and to be able to give the care needed for restoring and reimagining the instrument. Here some of the facade pipes have been removed and packed.

REMOVAL

January 2021

With all the pipes removed, the case could be disassembled. The thick layer of fine silt that covered every surface is visible on the wood.

REMOVAL

January 2021

Now from an expanded viewpoint, the disassembled pieces of the instrument can be seen throughout the Sanctuary as they’re prepared for transport: Crates holding pipes wait in the balcony. Various pieces are labeled and organized on the Sanctuary floor. Soon it will all be loaded onto the flatbed truck to travel to the C.B. Fisk Workshop.

In this image you can see a cart prepared behind the altar and a computer positioned in front: A live broadcast of the liturgy was about to happen while deep in COVID-19. Many who joined these live streams were unaware of the full picture in the rest of the Sanctuary. 

REASSEMBLY AND ASSESSMENT

February 2021

The original console, key desk, pedal board arrived at the C.B. Fisk Workshop for initial evaluation.

REASSEMBLY AND ASSESSMENT

March 2021

At the C.B. Fisk workshop the organ console has been opened and the key desk, stop tabs, and pedals removed. Only the console cheeks remain. The water damage can be seen at the bottom. Refurnishing will be needed to correct the damage of the flood.

REASSEMBLY AND ASSESSMENT

April 2021

The facilities at C.B. Fisk have been constructed specifically for organ building. Inside the Erecting Room, the steel case begins to be reassembled. The steel provides the structure needed for housing the pipes.

REASSEMBLY AND ASSESSMENT

May 2021

As more of the organ is reconstructed at C.B.Fisk, it becomes clearer how it will eventually be reinstalled at Saint Peter’s. The beginnings of the wooden case are shown here, as well as the wind chests. The tubing takes air from the reservoir to the wind chests where the pipes are placed.

RECONSTRUCTION

June 2022 

As a result of the water damage, restoration was needed for the wooden console and bench. Within C.B. Fisk’s paint and finishing shop, multiple coats are added before the console is reassembled.

RECONSTRUCTION

June 2022

The console needed to be given a finish that specifically matched the case. Having not sustained water damage, the case did not require the same extensive restoration and allowed for a more accurate match to the oringal finish.

RECONSTRUCTION

July 2022

Now with the refinished and relacquered console, the new and expanded toe board and toe pistons were added. This included the newly installed combination system.

RECONSTRUCTION

August 2022

The Workshop at C.B. Fisk includes a full woodshop and mill room. Here the keys are beginning to be reconstructed. The natural keys of the two manuals are shown here.

RECONSTRUCTION

September 2022

Within the C.B. Fisk pipe shop, new pipes are forged. In-house, sheets of pipe metal are alloyed, cast, and soldered.

RECONSTRUCTION

September 2022

Here the Great 8’ Trumpet with extender is templated on a voicing jack at C.B. Fisk.

RECONSTRUCTION

October 2022

At the C.B. Fisk workshop, the console and the finished manuals come together with the pedal board and the bench.

RECONSTRUCTION

October 2022

As the entire organ comes together at C.B. Fisk, some of the new mechanical action has been installed and the instrument begins to take shape.

RECONSTRUCTION

October 2022 

A part of the work was making acoustical modifications within the Saint Peter’s Sanctuary. The walls behind the organ were changed from drywall to plaster. Multiple layers of plaster create a hard surface. Here it is also visible that all of the wood seating in the Sanctuary had been removed for refurbishing.

RECONSTRUCTION

November 2022

As work prepares to move from the C.B. Fisk Workshop to Saint Peter’s, every piece is carefully packed again for transport. Near the back, the facade pipes are being prepared. Crates with more pipes and parts are in the foreground. Towards the right side, the organ case can be seen.

RECONSTRUCTION

November 2022

Carefully labeled and organized stacks of crates at the C.B. Fisk Workshop are almost ready to be reinstalled at Saint Peter’s.

REINSTALLATION

November 2022

The Klais 1977/Fisk 2023 organ returned to New York City, transported from Gloucester, MA on an 18-wheeler.

REINSTALLATION

November 2022

The Klais 1977/Fisk 2023 organ is unloaded on Lexington Avenue to begin the reinstallation.

REINSTALLATION

November 2022

The organ console was carefully brought off of the 18-wheeler parked on Lexington Avenue.

REINSTALLATION

November 2022 

Finally the console reentered through the front door of the church. 

REINSTALLATION

December 2022

The newly modified wall has been completed and painted. The console and various crates wait for reinstallation.

REINSTALLATION

December 2022

The newly created pipes for 1 of 5 new stops are finished and ready for installation in their rack. Each pipe has been handmade, one at a time at the C.B. Fisk Workshop.

REINSTALLATION

December 2022

The mechanical carbon-fiber action was reinstalled. Visible is the roller board in the back that allows the horizontal action to become vertical.

REINSTALLATION

December 2022

The mechanical section schematic for the organ provides the detailed blueprint that guided weeks of installation with the organ builders. Each line represents a mechanical carbon-fiber action. C.B. Fisk was the first organ builders to use carbon-fiber, a smart upgrade over the predecessor wood.

REINSTALLATION

December 2022

The plaques on the stop tabs were all replaced. The 16 foot principal was the first to be added. The metal bar underneath ensured perfect spacing and alignment for each stop. Each plaque is a recreation of the stop tabs with Vignelli graphic design. The typeface used is DIN, a font common to German transportation systems.