click images to enlarge Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (Roman Catholic) 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street New York, N.Y. 10028 http://www.saintignatiusloyola.org Organ Specifications: 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street (since 1884): ► IV/91 N.P. Mander (1991) • III/13 Rodgers Instruments hybrid (1977) • III/80s Hook & Hastings Co., Op. 2326 (1913) • I I/20s Hook & Hastings Co., Op. 2302 (1912) • III/51 Hook & Hastings Co., Op. 1710 (1896) East 84th Street between 4th & 5th Avenues (1854-1884) • Henry Erben & Co. (1847) The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola was founded in 1851 as the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole. Its first building, of Romanesque design, was built in 1854 on East 84th Street between Fourth (Park) and Fifth Avenues. In 1866, administration of the church was passed to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Three decades later, the church decided to build a new Gothic Revival church at the present location on Park Avenue, but only the lower church was completed in 1884. Plans for the upper church were changed to an Italian Renaissance-style basillica as designed by Schickel & Ditmars. The twin towers were to have four-tiered steeples, but this plan was never realized. Upon the completion of the new upper church in 1898, the Jesuits petitioned to have their founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, added as a co-patron of the parish. In 1969, the church was designated a New York City Landmark.                 Mander Organs London, England (1991) Suspended mechanical key action Electrical drawstop action 4 manuals, 68 stops, 91 ranks Since its installation in 1993, the organ in St. Ignatius Loyola Church has become a landmark liturgical and concert instrument in New York City. Built by Mander Organs of London in 1992, the four-manual organ contains sixty-eight speaking stops, nearly five thousand pipes, and weighs over twenty tons; it is believed to be amongst the largest mechanical action organs ever built in the British Isles. The organ was conceived with strong leanings towards the French symphonic style, and has been acclaimed as one of North America's most significant pipe organs. The organ case, one of the most spectacular to be built in modern times, rises 44 feet above the gallery floor and is made of solid French oak. A facade of polished tin pipes masks the pipes and mechanical action of the instrument, all made easily accessible by wide walkways and stairs. The luxurious console is finished with jambs and panels veneered with burr walnut and inlaid with satinwood banding, with blackwood borders. One panel conceals a CCTV monitor. The hand-engraved stop knobs are turned from a sixty-year old stock of rosewood and are carefully graded from top to bottom for color. Stephen Bicknell designed the organ, assisted by Didier Grassin, Geoff MacMahon, and James Richardson-Jones. Didier Grassin also designed the case. The organ was voiced by David Frostick and Michael Blighton, and tonal finishing on site was carried out by John Pike Mander and Michael Blighton.                 Grand Orgue (Manual II) – 61 notes 16   Montre 61 1 3/5   Tierce 61 8   Montre 61 1 1/3   Fourniture V rgs 305 8   Flûte harmonique 61 2/3   Cymbale IV rgs 244 8   Violoncelle 61 8   Cornet V rgs [g1-g4] 210 8   Bourdon 61 16   Bombarde 61 4   Prestant 61 8   Trompette (I-II) 66 4   Flûte à fuseau 61 4   Clairon (I-II) 78 2 2/3   Quinte 61   Tremblant 2   Doublette 61                       Récit expressif (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 61 2 2/3   Cornet III rgs 183 8   Diapason 61 1 1/3   Plein-jeu IV rgs 244 8   Salicional 61 16   Basson 61 8   Unda maris 61 8   Trompette harmonique (I-II) 66 8   Cor de nuit 61 8   Clarinette 61 4   Octave 61 4   Clairon harmonique (I-II) 78 4   Flûte ouverte 61   Tremblant 2   Doublette 61                       Positif (Manual I) – 61 notes 8   Montre 61 1 3/5   Tierce 61 8   Flûte à cheminée 61 1 1/3   Larigot 61 4   Prestant 61 1 1/3   Plein-jeu V rgs 305 4   Flûte douce 61 8   Trompette 61 2 2/3   Nazard 61 8   Cromorne 61 2   Doublette 61   Tremblant   2   Quarte de nazard 61                       Petit Récit (Manual IV) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Flûte traversière 61 16   Cor anglais 61 8   Viole de gambe 61 8   Trompette 61 8   Voix céleste 61 8   Basson-Hautbois 61 8   Bourdon 61 8   Voix humaine 61 4   Flûte octaviante 61   Tremblant 2   Octavin 61                       Bombardes (Manual IV) – 61 notes 4   Tuning reference [c13-c49] 37 8   Trompette en chamade (I-II) 66 16   Bombarde 61 4   Clairon en chamade (I-II) 78                 Pédale – 32 notes 32   Soubasse [ext.] 12 32   Contre Bombarde [ext.] 12 16   Montre 32 16   Bombarde 32 16   Contrebasse 32 16   Basson 32 16   Soubasse 32 8   Trompette 32 8   Principal 32 4   Clairon 32 8   Flûte bouchée 32       4   Octave 32   Etoile   3 1/5   Mixture V rgs 160   Orage                                     Rodgers Instruments LLC Hillsboro, Ore. (1975) Solid-state key, stop and combination action 3 manuals, 13 pipe ranks (Ruffatti) Two consoles In 1975, the Hook & Hastings organ was replaced by a Rodgers electronic instrument which was augmented by thirteen ranks of pipes provided by Fratelli Ruffatti of Padua, Italy. The speakers and pipes of the "combo" organ were installed behind the existing organ cases, and were controlled by two three-manual consoles. Virgil Fox dedicated the organ. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.                 Hook & Hastings Co.  Bosonn, Mass. – Opus 2326 (1913) Electro-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 80 registers In 1913, Hook & Hastings returned to enlarge the 1896 organ from 51 to 80 registers. The existing organ case, which had been centered in the gallery, was divided and installed on either side of a stained glass window. Sometime before 1950, William W. Laws rebuilt or replaced the organ. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.                 This organ was installed in the St. Lawrence Chapel (Lower Church): Hook & Hastings Co. Boston, Mass. – Opus 2302 (1912) Electro-pneumatic action 2 manuals, 20 registers The older "basement" Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole was completed in 1884, and probably included an organ when it was opened. Available records have not revealed details of such an organ, but in 1912 the Hook & Hastings Company installed a two-manual and pedal organ in the "St. Lawrence Chapel" of the church. Sometime before 1950, William R. Laws rebuilt or replaced the organ to have two manuals, eleven stops and 572 pipes. Specifications for these organs have not yet been located.                 Hook & Hastings Co. Boston, Mass. – Opus 1710 (1896) Electro-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 51 ranks The original organ for the newly-completed upper church was built in 1896 by Hook & Hastings of Boston. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.                 Organ in previous church on East 84th Street: Henry Erben Co. New York City (1847) Mechanical action The original church, known as St. Lawrence O'Toole, had an organ built in 1847 by Henry Erben of New York City. As the church was not founded until 1854, this was undoubtedly a second-hand organ. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.                 Sources:      Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004.      Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.      Mander Organs website: http://mander-organs.com      The Organs of the United States and Canada Database (OUSCDB); courtesy George Nelson.      St. Ignatius Loyola website: www.saintignatiusloyola.org      Van Pelt, William T. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991. Photos:      Lawson, Steven E.: church interior, Mander Organ case and console      Mander Organs: Mander Organ console      The Organ Historical Society: Hook & Hastings, Op. 2326 (1913) organ case.      St. Ignatius Loyola website: exterior       | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |