There is a special advent service on Sunday Nov 30 at 5pm with bagpipes!! m.blueridgenow/Section/526/Article/141119968 St. James keeps prize 2,500-pipe organ at top form By Moplly McGowan Times-News Staff Writer Thursday, November 13, 2014 6:55 AM Anyone whos served as an acolyte, taken Communion or simply attended a church service at St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville is familiar with the shiny pipes that flank the altar and seem to climb to the heavens. What most people dont realize is how exquisite that particular pipe organ is, and how much care goes into maintaining the instrument, said Brad Gee, director of music and organist at St. James. On Wednesday, pipe organ technician Stephen Spake of Lincoln Pipe Organs was crawling through the organ chambers, calling out to coworker Jonathan Gantt which notes to play and gently tapping individual pipes to tune them. Spake explained that by tapping up or down on the metal collar at the top of a flue pipe, he was making the note flatter or sharper — until it was just right. “Youre raising the air column; youre making it longer or shorter,” he said. With reed pipes, their tuning scrolls — or bent flaps at the top of the pipes curling outward — are similarly adjusted to create the right pitches. Since organs play the sounds of several instruments at once, using different “stops” that correspond with each sound, there are thousands of pipes for Spake to tune. Gee explained that the reed pipes include the sounds of a trumpet, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and are activated (air blown through them) when he pulls a stop and hits one of the 61 keys on the organ. “For every note, theres a physical pipe,” Gee said. And thats for each individual “sound” represented. A quick calculation by Spake estimated that the pipe organ at St. James consisted of at least 2,500 pipes. With that many pipes to tune, Gee said, “It takes the better part of a day.” “Sudden temperature changes can make the organ go out of tune,” he added. “We typically have it tuned twice a year,” just after the heat has been turned on for the winter, and when the air conditioning is turned on for the summer months. Gee said the pipe organ was being tuned Wednesday in preparation for St. James annual Advent service on Nov. 30. “It is the largest service of the year,” he said. “Bigger than Christmas, bigger than Easter.” Though the annual cost of tuning the pipe organ is about $2,000, Gee said the instruments rich sound is worth all the time and expense put into maintaining it. “This is a world-class instrument,” he said. “This is one of the finest instruments Ive ever played.” When purchased in 1999 from Harrison & Harrison in England, Gee said the pipe organ was disassembled, shipped and reassembled in the church, and cost over $1 million. Unlike a lot of organs, Gee said, “It does not screech or scream,” and has a warm, blended, romantic sound. “This one is very warm, inviting, pleasing to listen to,” Spake said. “It holds its shape well.” It helps that the acoustics in St. James have been enhanced, specifically to complement the pipe organ. Gee said when the church purchased the organ in 1999, air conditioning was installed, carpet was removed and to this day, there is no padding on the pews to absorb any sound. “This church has at least two seconds of natural reverb,” Gee said. “This room is naturally live. Its like singing in the bathroom — everything echoes.” “It sets up the perfect environment,” Gantt said, and Spake added, “Its a treasure.” Gee invited the public to hear the pipe organ firsthand during St. James Advent Lessons & Carols service at 5 p.m. Nov. 30. St. James Episcopal Church is located at 766 N. Main St. in Hendersonville. Doors open at 4 p.m. Reach McGowan at molly.mcgowan@blueridgenow or 828-694-7871.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 18:43:14 +0000
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