St. James United Church Organ - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 45° 30.306 W 073° 34.086
18T E 611859 N 5040060
The church's organ was constructed in 1891.
Waymark Code: WMW8T9
Location: Québec, Canada
Date Posted: 07/25/2017
Views: 10
The church's website (
visit link) informs us:
"THE HISTORY OF THE ORGAN
The main church organ is a four-manual, 64-stop instrument with almost 4000 pipes. Originally constructed in 1891 by Wadsworth and Sons, it still has its original pipes. Work was done on the organ in the early 20th century by Warren Brothers, the great early Canadian organ builders. The instrument was completely rebuilt in 1938 by Casavant Frères who continued to maintain the instrument until the spring of 2011.
Great musicians like E. Power Biggs, Simon Preston, Fernando Germani and André Marchal have performed at St. James. Lynnwood Farnham, Raymond Daveluy and Bernard Lagacé had their Montreal debuts here.
César Franck (1822-1890) – Pièce Héroïque, performed by Philip Crozier on the St. James organ, recorded June 14 2008 by Jonathan Addleman.
Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) – Chant de Mai (Op. 53, No. 1), performed by Philip Crozier on the St. James organ, recorded June 14 2008 by Jonathan Addleman.
THE LATEST RESTORATION OF THE ORGAN
In 2011 and 2012, the entire organ was restored by Orgues Létourneau of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec. The project included the re-leathering of all wind chest actions, re-covering all of the organ’s wind reservoirs and repairing all of the instrument’s pipework including its 16 foot façade. Two new mixture stops were provided for the Great Division, while a new Willis-style 8 foot Vox Humana was installed in the Swell to replace the long-departed original. The four-manual console was largely rebuilt to incorporate modern playing conveniences, such as multiple memory levels and a general piston sequencer. Likewise, the organ’s switching system has been replaced with a new solid-state system and the organ’s internal wiring – much of it dating back to 1938 – was brought up to modern electrical standards. The final stage of the restoration project was the tonal regulation of each of the organ’s 3,949 pipes by a team of voicers. Taking several weeks to accomplish, this process has given this venerable pipe organ new clarity and cohesion without markedly altering its signature sound."