Gallery

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Raleigh, North Carolina

Year Built: 2011
Manuals: 3
Stops: 47
Ranks: 57

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Construction Gallery

The new Nichols & Simpson organ for St. Michael’s Episcopal Church replaces an instrument completed in 1977 by M. P. Möller, Inc., repaired and updated in 1996 by the Schantz Organ Company.

The new organ consists of 47 stops and 57 ranks of pipes with four manual divisions and a pedal division, played from a three-manual moveable console, the outer case of which is constructed of oak to match the other furnishings, and the interior of which is made of burl eucalyptus. The manual keys are of polished bone and rosewood, the pedal keys are of maple and rosewood, and the drawknobs which control the stops are made of rosewood with bone faces engraved with the stop names. The combination action features 100 levels of memory, a record/playback sequencer and USB port. There are approximately 3,385 pipes ranging in size from 32-feet long to the size of a pencil.

The case work fronting the three locations of the organ was designed to fit the space visually and to lend aesthetic enhancement to the worship space. The inspiration for the pipe shade motif behind the tops of the facade pipes came from the angels’ wings in the stained glass window surrounding the Antiphonal organ. The Swell division is located in the right case with the Pedal upperwork just behind the facade. The Great and Choir divisions are located in the left case together with the 16′ Open Wood and 32′ Ophicleide. The pipes of the commanding Tuba Mirabilis stop are located above the Choir chamber and are enclosed in their own expression chamber.

The Antiphonal division, which may be played from any of the console’s three keyboards, is located in the rear of the Church, and features a polished brass Festival Trumpet (horizontal trumpet stop).

Those who contributed to the realization of the organ include: