Proposed Drawing (1927) of Flatbush Lutheran Church of the Redeemer - Brooklyn, NY (Mayers, Murray & Phillip)
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Flatbush Church of the Redeemer
(Lutheran)

Ditmas Avenue and 22nd Strreet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11226


Organ Specifications:
Ditmas Avenue and 22nd Street (1929-1973)
► III/40 Aeolian-Votey, Op. 1673 (1929)
Cumberland Street near Lafayette Avenue (18??-1929)
• III/41 Müller & Abel, Op. 14 (1897)


The English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer was organized in the late 1800s, and a church was built on Cumberland Street near Lafayette Avenue. In 1896-97 the edifice was renovated and a new high altar and organ were installed. Upon the completion of the project, the church was consecrated on Sunday, April 25, 1897, with a musical programme, rendered by a choir of forty voices, under the direction of Walter Haas, the organist and choirmaster. Consecration services continued each night through the following Wednesday.

In 1929, a new stone church in neo-Gothic style, designed by Mayers, Murray & Phillip of B. G. Goodhue Associates, was built on the corner of Ditmas Avenue and 22nd Street.

In 1973, the congregation merged with the Flatbush Presbyterian Church, located nearby at 494 East 23rd Street near Foster Avenue. The combined congregations are known today as the Flatbush Church of the Redeemer.
 
Organ in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on Ditmas Avenue at 22nd Street:

Aeolian-Votey Organ Company
New York City – Opus 1673 (1928)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 40 stops, 40 ranks


The three-manual Aeolian-Votey organ in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer incorporated chests and pipes from the previous Müller & Abel organ. Three new ranks were added, and all old parts and pipes were returned to the factory for refurbishing. Archer Gibson dedicated the organ on February 12, 1929. Mr. Gibson's program included Fantasia in G minor and Loure from Third Suite for Cello, Bach; Allegro ma non troppo, Organ Concerto, Handel; Largo Appassionato, from Piano Sonata, Op. 2, No. 2, and Minuet, Beethoven; Andante Cantabile, from Fourth Symphony, Widor; Cathedral Procession, from "Lohengrin," Wagner; "Orientale," Cui; "Liebesfreud," Kreisler; "Kammenoi Ostrow," Rubinstein; "Litany for All Souls' Day," Schubert; Spring Song, Gibson; "Pomp and Circumstance," Elgar. After the program was finished, the entire audience remained for nearly an hour listening to Mr. Gibson improvise.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Double Open Diapason
61
2 2/3
   Twelfth
61
8
  Open Diapason
61
2
  Fifteenth
61
8
  Flute Harmonique
61
    Mixture, 3 ranks
183
8
  Doppel Flöte
61
8
  Trumpet
61
8
  Viola da Gamba
61
    Tremolo  
4
  Octave
61
   
Chimes
20 bells
4
   Hohl Flöte
61
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Bourdon
73
4
   Traverse Flute
73
8
  Open Diapason
73
2
   Flageolet
73
8
  Stopped Diapason
73
     Dolce Cornet, 3 ranks
183
8
  Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
  Voix Celeste
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
  Aeoline
73
8
   Cornopean
73
4
  Gemshorn
73
     Tremolo  
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Geigen Principal
73
4
   Violina
73
8
   Concert Flute
73
2
   Piccolo
73
8
   Dolce
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Quintadena
73
     Tremolo  
4
   Flute d'Amour
73
        
       

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Open Diapason
32
8
  Cello [ext.]
12
16
  Bourdon
32
16
  Trombone
32
16
  Violone
32
8
   Tromba [ext.]
12
8
  Octave [ext.]
12
  Chimes
GT
8
   Still Gedeckt [ext.]
12
        
 
Organ in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on Cumberland Street, near Lafayette Avenue:

Müller & Abel
New York City – Opus 14 (1897)
Mechanical action?
3 manuals


The first organ for the original church building on Cumberland Street was built by Müller & Abel of New York City. In 1929, the Aeolian-Votey company was contracted to rebuild, electrify and move the organ to the new building on Ditmas Avenue. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
 
Sources:
     "Archer Gibson Plays Aeolian in Brooklyn," The American Organist (April 1929). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     The Diapason, March 1929. Specifications of Aeolian-Votey Organ, Op. 1673 (1928). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "Four Days of Consecration," The New York Times (April 26, 1897).
     The Keraulophon, Organ Historical Society Archives, courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Smith, Rollin. The Aeolian Pipe Organ and its Music. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1998.
     "2 Flatbush Congregations Unite for Survival," The New York Times (July 2, 1973).
     Trupiano, Larry. Assorted documents (1893-1916) regarding history of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

Photos:
     Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection: Proposed drawing (1927) of church by Mayers, Murray & Phillip.
     Twentieth Anniversay (1894-1914) Program Cover. Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
 
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