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Church of St. Charles Borromeo
(Roman Catholic)
21 Sidney Place at Aitken Place
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
http://www.stcharlesbrooklyn.org/
Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1869)
► III/35 J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 178 (1880); reb. (2004)
• I/15s E. & G.G. Hook, Op. 481 (1869)
First building (1854-burned 1868)
• II/24 Ferris & Stuart (1854) – destroyed by fire in 1868 |
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The Parish of St. Charles Borromeo was founded in 1850 by the Rev. Charles Constantine Pise, D.D. In 1854, Dr. Pise purchased the former Emanuel Protestant Episcopal Church on Sidney Place and remodeled it for use as a Catholic church. Dr. Pise was succeeded by the Rev. Francis J. Freel, D.D., who had been one of the assistants at St. James.
In December 1866, Dr. Freel purchased seven lots, at a cost of $22,000, on which a new and larger church could be built. Before a new church could be built, the old church was destroyed on March 7, 1868, by a fire from a defective flue.
Three weeks after the fire, ground was broken for a new church, and in August of that year the cornerstone was laid. Designed by Patrick Keely of Brooklyn, the Gothic church featured a graceful tower and steeple above the main entrance and was constructed of Philadelphia brick trimmed with Belleville stone. It is believed that St. Charles Borromeo was Keely's 325th church design. |
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J.H. & C.S. Odell
New York City – Opus 178 (1880)
Mechanical key and stop action
3 manuals, 32 stops, 35 ranks
Virtually unaltered since its installation in 1880, the Odell at St. Charles is the largest extant Odell tracker organ in New York City. It is specifically referenced in Orpha Ochse's, The History of the Organ in the United States, as well as other resources on American Organbuilding. The scaling and voicing provide an excellent example of the work that made the Odells so popular in the Victorian era. The composition of the Swell and Great mixtures (which are identical), includes a tierce. Manual I (named "Solo") includes a 7" Tuba, as well as a Clarionet. Features of the organ include a reversible Swell to Great coupler piston, the usual compliment of composition pedals, and a Swell box with two sets of tandem-acting expression shades, one behind the other.
The organ was originally winded by a Ross water motor, and the double-rise wind reservoir long ago lost its crank and feeders; wind is now supplied by a Kinetic blower. Aside from that, the only other appreciable interior alterations are to the metal flue pipes, which were fitted with coke tin tuning sleeves. Manual keys were unfortunately recovered with acrylic as part of work done by a local organ technician in 1966. |
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Solo Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
4 |
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Flute d'Amour |
58 |
8 |
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Dulciana |
58 |
2 |
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Piccolo |
58 |
8 |
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Keraulophon |
58 |
8 |
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Tuba Cornet |
58 |
8 |
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Melodia |
58 |
8 |
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Clarionet [TC] |
46 |
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Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
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16 |
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Double Open Diapason |
58 |
4 |
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Harmonic Flute |
58 |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
2 2/3 |
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Twelfth |
58 |
8 |
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Gamba |
58 |
2 |
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Fifteenth |
58 |
8 |
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Clarionet Flute |
58 |
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Mixture, 3 ranks (17-19-22) |
174 |
4 |
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Principal |
58 |
8 |
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Trumpet |
58 |
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Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Bourdon |
58 |
4 |
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Flauto Traverso |
58 |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
2 |
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Flageolet |
58 |
8 |
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Salicional |
58 |
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Cornet, 3 ranks (17-19-22) |
174 |
8 |
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Stopped Diapason |
58 |
8 |
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Cornopean |
58 |
4 |
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Fugara |
58 |
8 |
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Oboe |
58 |
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Pedal Organ – 27 notes
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16 |
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Open Diapason |
27 |
8 |
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Violoncello |
27 |
16 |
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Bourdon |
27 |
16 |
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Trombone |
27 |
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Couplers
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Swell and Great |
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Great and Pedal |
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Solo and Great |
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Swell and Pedal |
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Swell and Solo |
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Solo and Pedal |
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Patented Reversible Coupler
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Swell to Great (piston) |
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Mechanicals
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Swell Tremulant |
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Blowers Signal |
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Pedal Movements
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Great Mezzo |
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Swell Piano |
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Great Forte |
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Swell Forte |
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Great to Pedal Reversible |
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Balanced Swell Pedal |
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Original organ in present church:
E. & G.G. Hook
Boston, Mass. – Opus 481 (1869)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 15 stops
Specifications for this organ have not yet been located. |
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Organ in previous church:
Ferris & Stuart
New York City (1854) – destroyed by fire in 1868
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 24 stops
Specifications for this organ have not yet been located. |
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Sources:
The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
"The Late Rev. Dr. Pise," Brooklyn Eagle, May 28, 1866.
Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
Ochse, Orpha. The History of the Organ in the United State. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975.
Odell, Edward. Electronic correspondence (Mar. 9, 2010) concerning J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 178 (1880).
J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ web site: www.odellorgans.com
Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977.
"Organ Opening," The Musical Critic and Trade Review (Nov. 5, 1880:16).
St. Charles Borromeo web site: http://www.stcharlesbrooklyn.org/
Photos:
Lawson, Steven E.: exterior; interior; J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ, Op. 178 (1880). |
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