Click on images to enlarge 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
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 Emmanuel 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.
J.H. & C.S. Odell New York City – Opus 178 (1880) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 32 stops, 35 ranks Virtually unaltered since its installation in 1880, the Odell at St. Charles Borromeo Church 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 Contract (June 18, 1880) states that the organ cost $6,500. 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.                 Solo Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes 8   Open Diapason 58 4   Flute d'Amour 58 8   Dulciana 58 2   Piccolo 58 8   Keraulophon 58 8   Tuba Cornet 58 8   Melodia 58 8   Clarionet [TC] 46                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes 16   Double Open Diapason 58 4   Harmonic Flute 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2 2/3   Twelfth 58 8   Gamba 58 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Clarionet Flute 58     Mixture, 3 ranks (17-19-22) 174 4   Principal 58 8   Trumpet 58                 Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 58 4   Flauto Traverso 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2   Flageolet 58 8   Salicional 58     Cornet, 3 ranks (17-19-22) 174 8   Stopped Diapason 58 8   Cornopean 58 4   Fugara 58 8   Oboe 58                 Pedal Organ – 27 notes 16   Open Diapason 27 8   Violoncello 27 16   Bourdon 27 16   Trombone 27                 Couplers     Swell and Great   Great and Pedal     Solo and Great   Swell and Pedal     Swell and Solo   Solo and Pedal                 Patented Reversible Coupler     Swell to Great (piston)                   Mechanicals     Swell Tremulant       Blowers Signal                   Pedal Movements     Great Mezzo   Swell Piano     Great Forte   Swell Forte     Great to Pedal Reversible   Balanced Swell Pedal
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.
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.
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 website: 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).      Petty, Bynum. J.H. & C.S. Odell Annotated Opus List.      St. Charles Borromeo website: http://www.stcharlesbrooklyn.org/ Illustrations:      Lawson, Steven E. Exterior; interior; J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ, Op. 178 (1880).
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