The current organ was built in 1927 by Casavant Frères, Ste-Hyacinthe, Quebec, opus 1225, for St Jean-de-le-Croix, Montreal, Canada. The work of rebuilding and restoration has been carried out by Melbourne organbuilders Wakeley Pipe Organs Pty Ltd working with architects Grieve Gillett Andersen. The organ is divided on either side of the rear gallery of the Cathedral behind newly constructed blackwood casework, its design deriving from architectural motifs in the building and providing an effective frame for the rose window and its Kempe glass.
It was opened at a recital given by Dr Joshua van Kolkelenberg on Tuesday 15 November 2016. His programme included works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Franck, Duruflé, Alain and Widor.
This is the first major example of an interwar church organ from the American continent to come to Australia. While instruments by Aeolian and Wurlitzer also came to Australia at the time, these were either far smaller or built on the extension principle, for cinemas and residences.
The Casavant organ is notable for its extraordinary generosity of construction, with lavish use of thick timbers, huge swell boxes and windchests. The overall sound certainly has a French flavour, but with a greater sense of refinement and employing sonorities that would not have been heard in that country. There is a wealth of flute stops, of both wood and metal, and some of harmonic construction. The manual windchests are of 73-note compass, so clearly designed for the use of octave and sub-octave couplers. The heavy-pressure enclosed Solo division can be coupled to any of the three manuals, the Stentorphone (actually a large-scale Diapason, with leathered lips in the bass) and the Tuba Mirabilis, to give a welcome unison boost to the overall sound. The swell boxes are enormously effective and can cut the overall sound back to a mere whisper.
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide: console of Casavant organ
[photograph by John Maidment (16 November 2016)]
The low-profile drawstop console (with rocker tablets for the couplers) includes a Pedal Divide, a facility to alter the order of the manuals (inverting the Grand Orgue and Positif manuals), and very neat light-up swell indicators. The action throughout has been updated, with solid-state controls and a comprehensive combination action.
The three new Laukhuff blowers are located in a specially designed and insulated sound-proof room, hauling wind from the interior of the instrument, while a humidification plant by Watkins & Watson is also placed there – the room is air conditioned.
GRAND ORGUE (II)
Montre
Montre
Flûte Ouverte
Flûte à Cheminée
Gemshorn
Prestant
Flûte Harmonique
Doublette
Mixture
Trompette
Clairon
Grand Orgue 16
Grand Orgue Unison Off
Grand Orgue 4
Récit to Grand Orgue 16
Récit to Grand Orgue 8
Récit to Grand Orgue 4
Positif to Grand Orgue 16
Positif to Grand Orgue 8
Positif to Grand Orgue 4
Solo to Grand Orgue 8
RÉCIT (III)
Bourdon
Principal
Bourdon
Viole de Gambe
Voix Céleste
Prestant
Flûte Traverse
Piccolo
Cornet
Bombarde
Trompette
Hautbois
Voix Humaine
Clairon
Trémolo
Récit 16
Récit Unison Off
Récit 4
Solo to Récit 8
POSITIF (I)
Bourdon
Diapason
Melodie
Dulciana
Flûte Douce
Violina
Nazard
Piccolo
Clarinette
Trémolo
Positif 16
Positif Unison Off
Positif 4
Récit to Positif 16
Récit to Positif 8
Récit to Positif 4
Solo to Positif 8
SOLO
Stentorphone
Grosse Flûte
Viole d'Orchestre
Tuba Mirabilis
floating – 73 note chest – pipes in Positif enclosure
PÉDALE
Basse Résultante
Flûte Ouverte
Open Diapason
Bourdon
Violon
Bourdon Doux
Flûte
Bourdon
Bombarde
Trompette
Pédale Unison Off
Pédale Divide
Grand Orgue to Pédale 8
Récit to Pédale 8
Récit to Pédale 4
Positif to Pédale 8
Positif to Pédale 4
Solo to Pédale 8
Electro-pneumatic action
Detached drawstop console with stopkeys for the couplers
Electro-pneumatic swell pedals to Récit and Positif/Solo operating whiffle-tree swell engines
Mixture Compositions
Grand Orgue Mixture:
C1-B24 15.17.19.22
C25-F42 12.15.17.19
F#43-B48 8.12.12.17
C49-C61 1.5.8.12
C#62-C73 1.5.8.5
Récit Cornet:
C1-C49 8.12.15.17
C#50-C61 8.12.8.10
C#62-C73 8.5.8.10
Wind Pressures
Grand Orgue 5½"
Récit (LP) 7"
Récit (HP) 10" (chorus reeds)
Positif 6"
Solo 12"
Pedale 6" & 7"7
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St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Adelaide, South Australia. It is classified as being a Gothic Revival building in the Early English style. The tower stands 36 m high and is 56.5 m lengthwise and 29.5 m horizontally. The foundation stone was laid in 1856, and construction of the tower began in 1887. However, it was not completed until 1996.
History
In 1838, two years after the proclamation of South Australia, an advertisement was put up to organise religious meetings for South Australian Catholics. The first Mass was celebrated in a house on East Terrace in 1840. In 1845, a Catholic primary school was set up and used as the religious centre for Catholics until the foundation stone for a cathedral was laid in 1851 for a design by Richard Lambeth. However, with a gold rush in Victoria, Lambeth left along with many of the population, leaving no plans and with the community in economic depression.
The original foundation stone was put in place on 17 March 1856 by the vicar general, Father Michael Ryan, with the first part of the cathedral being dedicated on 11 July 1858. It was first extended when construction began at the southern end of the cathedral, including the sanctuary, side chapel, lady chapel and sacristy in January 1859. Construction of the first extension finished the following year in November 1860. With further growth in the population of Adelaide, another extension was required to seat more worshippers. In November 1886, Bishop Reynolds laid the foundation stone for an extension on the eastern side for a further 200 people, as well new vestries and confessionals. These were completed in August the following year. In 1904, electric lighting was introduced.
The cathedral was expanded again in 1923, with extensions to the western aisle and northern end of the bell tower, and was opened in April 1926 by Archbishop Spence. The cornerstone of the current bell tower was laid in 1887, and although the lower part was built between 1923 and 1926 it was not completed until 1996 by the architect Lynton Jury, 109 years after construction of the tower commenced. The bell used in the tower is the Murphy Bell of 1867, surrounded by thirteen other bells hung for change ringing, installed in 1996, seven of these bells date from 1881 and were previously in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. The bells are rung by members of The Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers. The cathedral suffered significant damage in the 1954 Adelaide earthquake.
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