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Builder: Bennett Organ Co., 1928 1963: Clarence Helsing rebuild Manuals: 3 Ranks: ca. 30 Action: Electro-pneumatic Notes: See history of the organ below, right. See Helsing rebuild below original Bennet stoplist. GREAT 8' Diapason 8' Gedackt 8' Tibia 8' Violincello 8' Dulciana 8' Melodia 4' Octave 4' Flute SWELL 16' Bourdon 8' Diapason 8' Stopped Diapason 8' Salicional 8' Voix Celeste 8' Geackt 4' Flute d'Amour 2.2/3' Nasard 2' Flute 8' Oboe 8' Vox Humana Tremolo Chimes CHOIR 8' Violin Diapason 8' Melodia 8' Dulciana 8' Unda Maris 8' Tibia 4' Flute 2' Piccolo 8' Clarinet Tremolo Harp PEDAL 32' Resultant 16' Diapason 16' Bouron 16' Dolce 8' Flute 8' Violincello 8' Octave Clarence Helsing 1963 rebuild * - new GREAT 8' Principal * 8' Harmonic Flute * 4' Octave * 2' Fifteenth * Chimes SWELL 16' Bourdon 8' Gedackt 8' Salicional 8' Voix Celeste 4' Principal * 4' Flute d'Amour Plein Jeu III * 16' Contra Fagotto * 8' Trumpet * 8' Oboe 4' Rohr Schalmei * Tremolo CHOIR 8' Gemshorn * 8' Melodia 8' Dulciana 8' Unda Maris 4' Rohr Flute * 2.2/3' Nazard * 2' Flautino * 8' Clarinet Tremolo PEDAL 16' Diapason 16' Bourdon 16' Dolce 8' Octave * 8' Flute 4' Super Octave * 16' Contra Fagotto (Sw) * |
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History of the 1928 Bennett Pipe Organ At Swedesburg Lutheran
Church. In 1926, the Swedesburg Lutheran
congregation met to celebrate Jubilee services marking the 60th
anniversary of the church. Miss Mabel Larson, organist and assistant
choir director, played an Opening Jubilee service Friday, August 20,
1926 at 8:00 p.m. on the congregation’s 1911 pipe organ. The Jubilee
also included a Festival Service at the Parish Hall (then called the
Luther League Auditorium), a Church Orchestra concert in the park, a
Confirmation Class Reunion Service, and a Grand Jubilee Concert. When the congregation gathered in for these services celebrating the anniversary, little did they know that their church would burn for a second time the following year on June 11, 1927. The perseverance of the congregation and their faith in God helped them plan and build our current church building in one year at a cost of $60,000, of which roughly $10,000 was spent on the purchase and installation of a pipe organ from the Bennett Company of Rock Island, Illinois. Labor was cheap and organ workshops were more plentiful in 1928 than now. Adjusted for inflation, the cost of the organ would be roughly $150,000 in 2020. The inaugural services for our church were held in July 1928. This Winfield Beacon archive edition from the previous week describes every detail of the new church: The inaugural services began with a Grand Organ Dedication Concert on Thursday, July 19, 1928, given by Dr. Cyril Graham, professor of Organ at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. The program featured Soprano soloist, Mrs. Katheryn Kansten Thul, also from Rock Island, in a diverse repertoire including excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, popular songs of the day, and classic organ literature that highlighted the new instrument. The weekend festivities continued with the congregation’s first service at 10 a.m. on July 22 with hymns and choral music, led from the organ by Miss Mabel Larson. A Dedication Service was held the same day at 3:00 p.m., featuring the church choirs and messages from former pastors. The weekend’s festivities concluded with a community concert featuring the church orchestra on Monday, July 23, 1928. The Winfield Beacon described the dedication as events that “will go down in history as one of the outstanding features and achievements in their community life.” The edition from July 26, 1928 continued: “Ushers, detailed to keep count on those in attendance, checked nearly four thousand at the three services. It was impossible for all to find seats, and many were turned away. In the evening, the lawn adjoining the beautiful church accommodated those who were unable to gain admittance. The windows of the church swung wide, and the strains of the organ, voice and orchestral numbers wafted out upon the cool summer evening air.” The organ was well received during the dedication recital and church services. The Winfield Beacon said that “without question, the new Swedesburg church has the most beautiful toned organ in this, and several counties for that matter.” In describing the Dr. Graham’s concert, “without exception his numbers were of a high order and by old masters. His rendition and interpretations of the various compositions softened and quieted the nerve, yet in the next instant his audience was thrilled and inspired by the shrill whistles of the tiny pipes in musical rhythm, gracefully supported by the deep rumblings of those in the bass clef.” The newspaper complimented the church organist, Miss Mabel Larson, saying, “The congregation is indeed fortunate in having in their midst Miss Mabel Larson, who is fully qualified and capable of handling the new instrument, and who takes a keen interest in it.” Miss Mabel Larson continued as Swedesburg Lutheran organist until 1945, when she was succeeded by Ardith Ingmanson. A list of church organists can be found on the next page. As time went by, the instrument aged. With age, pipe organs, as complex musical instruments, develop mechanical issues which need to be repaired and renovated by professional organ builders. The Bennett Pipe Organ company, which built our instrument in 1928, went bankrupt in 1930 at the outset of the Great Depression. Thus, when issues of pipe speech and wiring required a rebuild in the early 1960s, the congregation hired Clarence Helsing, organist of Zion Lutheran Church in Rockford, Il, to rebuild the instrument. Since musical tastes in organ music change over time as well, the rebuild also included the removal of a number of string-tone and other pipes replacing those with new sets of principal pipes and trumpets. The contract for this repair was signed in 1962 at a cost of $12,700 (roughly $115,000 in 2020 terms). This rebuild included the removal of all pipes for cleaning and the installation of new windchests for most pipes. This work was completed by spring of 1963, when Mr. Helsing rededicated the pipe organ in concert on March 31, 1963. The rededication featured organ solos selected to showcase the new pipework. The program also featured the church choir and a brass ensemble culminating, as the Winfield Beacon described it, with “a setting of the hymn ‘Built on a Rock,’ sung by congregation and choirs. […] This was particularly inspiring: a perfect ending to a pleasant evening.” The instrument has remained tonally unchanged and has not had a major rebuild, rewiring, nor pipe cleaning since 1963. New leathering was installed on the windchests in the early 2000s. The dedication festivities as described in the newspaper will certainly inform future rededication concerts. Organ history: https://www.swedesburglutheran.org/organ-history (from church in 2020). |
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