Our Pipe Organ

“Among all other instruments which are suitable for divine worship, the organ is ‘accorded pride of place’(1) because of its capacity to sustain the singing of a large gathered assembly, due to both its size and its ability to give ‘resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation.’” (2)

“In addition to its ability to lead and sustain congregational singing, the sound of the pipe organ is most suited for solo playing of sacred music in the Liturgy at appropriate moments. Pipe organs also play an important evangelical role in the Church’s outreach to the wider community in sacred concerts, music series, and other musical and cultural programs.”(3)

At St. Augustine, we are blessed with magnificent pipe organ in the balcony of the church. The organ was originally built in 1896 by the Henry Pilcher’s Sons Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The original organ was hand pumped and had mechanical, tracker action. In 1939, the Henry Pilcher’s Sons Company came back to St. Augustine to modernize and enlarge the instrument. Between 1968 and 1972, the instrument was once again enlarged and altered by the H.W. Muller & Sons Organ Company from Toledo, Ohio. Pipes were added and exchanged in an attempt to ‘lighten’ the sound with more brilliant and edgy sounds. Though the mechanics that control the instrument were not changed with the rebuild, a new console was built and installed in the balcony.

By the mid-2010’s, the pipe organ began to show its age, exhibiting increasing unreliability. In 2019, a contract was signed with Reynolds Associates, Inc. of Marion, Indiana to complete the badly needed restoration and overhaul of the organ. The organ was removed from the church in March 2020; the playing mechanism has been newly built, and the pipes were cleaned, repaired, and re-regulated. A new three-manual console was built for the organist to control the functions of the organ, as the 1968 console was worn out after many years of hard use. A gleaming façade of speaking pipes was erected to cover the front of the organ, replacing the 1951 screen previously in front of the instrument. The organ restoration is concluded with voicing in October of 2023. The new iteration of the organ has returned the organ to the rich, darker sounds of the Pilcher era with an American-symphonic flair that Reynolds Associates strives to give to each of their instruments. The new organ has been designed to accompany our Men’s Choir, Mixed Choir, and our resident Brass Quintet along with leading the church’s congregation singing. To accomplish this, there are nine ranks of strings in the manual divisions, three different scales of 8’ Diapasons on the Great, complete Diapason choruses on each manual, and four 32’ options in the Pedal—to name a few!

Today, the organ is playing in tip-top shape and effortlessly leads the congregation and choirs in song. From its softest whispers to its deafening roar, St. Augustine’s pipe organ convincingly moves everyone’s heart who hears it.

1.    GIRM. No. 393.

2.    Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. No. 87.

3.    Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. No. 88.