Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church


	Click on images to enlarge

Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel
(Roman Catholic)

230 East 90th Street
New York, N.Y. 10128
http://olgcny.org/

Organ Specifications:
► III/19 Kilgen Organ Company, Op. 7799 (1959)
► III/50 Hook & Hastings, Op. 1480 (1891)

In the 1870s and 1880s, following the Civil War, the city's residents began to move northward, leaving the congested and noisy downtown area. The construction of elevated trains along Second and Third Avenues enticed many to Yorkville, which extends from 59th to 96th Street, and from the East River to Fifth Avenue. German families and immigrants, along with a large group of Irish, were particularly attracted to Yorkville. Brownstones and tenements were built for the laborers who worked at the Ehret's and Ruppert's breweries, or who crossed the East River at 92nd Street for an easy ferry ride to the Steinway Piano Factory in Queens.

The influx of Catholics soon overflowed Yorkville's primary church, St. Lawrence O'Toole (now St. Ignatius Loyola), founded in 1851 on East 84th Street. New churches were established by the diocese, including St. Monica's (1879) on East 79th, St. Jean Baptiste (1882) on Lexington Avenue at East 76th Street, Our Lady of Good Counsel (1886) on East 90th Street, St. Joseph's (1888) on East 87th Street, St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1891) on East 83rd Street, and St. Stephen of Hungary (1902) on East 82nd Street.

Thomas H. Poole designed the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which was completed in 1892. Its stone exterior is notable for crenellated coping and turrets which echo those found on the Calvary Squadron A Armory (designed by John R. Thomas in 1888-90) on Madison Avenue between 94th and 95th Streets. Inside, the ornate and spacious interior is decorated with lacy gothic details, galleries on three sides, and beautiful stained glass windows.

Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, Op. 7799 (1959) in Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church - New York City (photo: John Rust)

Kilgen Organ Company
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 7799 (1959)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 28 registers, 17 stops, 19 ranks

After almost 70 years of service, the large 1891 Hook & Hastings organ was replaced in 1959-60 by a much smaller organ built by the Kilgen Organ Company, one of two rival firms established after the liquidation of Geo. Kilgen & Son of St. Louis in 1939. Kilgen installed the organ behind the twin cases of the original Hook & Hastings organ.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed

Diapason

2 2/3

Quinte (fr. Principal)

—

Melodia

Super Octave (fr. Principal)

—

Gemshorn

Tremolo

Principal

Chimes

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed

Open Diapason

Piccolo (fr. Gedeckt)

—

Gedeckt

Plein Jeu III ranks

183

Viole de Gambe

Oboe

Viole Celeste (TC)

Tremolo

Flute d'Amour (fr. Gedeckt)

—

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed

Concert Flute

Clarinet

Dulciana

Tremolo

Unda Maris

Chimes

Zart Floete

2 2/3

Nasard (fr. Zart Floete) *

—

* has always played at 2' pitch

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Resultant

—

Octave (fr. Contra Bass)

—

Contra Bass

Bass Flute (fr. Bourdon)

—

Bourdon

Gedeckt

Lieblich Gedeckt (ext. SW)

Block Floete (fr. Bourdon)

—

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8', 4'

Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'

Swell to Pedal 8', 4'

Great 16', Unison Off, 4'

Choir to Pedal 8'

Swell 16', Unison Off, 4'

Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Choir 16', Unison Off, 4'

Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'

Adjustable Combinations (hold and set)

Great & Pedal	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-0 (thumb)
Swell & Pedal	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-0 (thumb)
Choir & Pedal	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-0 (thumb)
Full Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-0 (thumb)

Pedal Movements

Great Expression Pedal

Great to Pedal Reversible

Swell Expression Pedal

Sforzando

Choir Expression Pedal

Crescendo Pedal

Hook & Hastings Boston, Mass. – Opus 1480 (1891) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 41 stops, 50 ranks The original organ for Our Lady of Good Counsel was built in 1891 by Hook & Hastings of Boston. Following is the stoplist recorded by organist Clifford J. Iasillo, who arrived to play for the High Mass on Passion Sunday 1957, only to find that the organ had been removed. Manual and pedal compasses were not given but are suggested, based on similar Hook & Hastings organs of that era.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16	Open Diapason	58	4	Octave	58
8	Open Diapason	58	3	Twelfth	58
8	Viola d'Gamba	58	2	Fifteenth	58
8	Viole d'Amour	58		Mixture IV ranks	232
8	Doppel Flute	58		Acuta IV ranks	232
6	Quint	58	8	Trumpet	58
4	Harmonic Flute	58	4	Clarion	58

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16	Bourdon	58	2	Flautino	58
8	Open Diapason	58		Dolce Cornet IV ranks	232
8	Stop'd Diapason	58	8	Cornopean	58
8	Salicional	58	8	Oboe	58
4	Flute Traverso	58	8	Vox Humana	58
4	Violino	58		Tremolo

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
16	Lieblich Gedeckt	58	4	Flute d'Amour	58
8	Geigen Principal	58	4	Fugara	58
8	Stop'd Diapason	58	2	Piccolo	58
8	Melodia	58	8	Clarinet	58
8	Dulciana	58

Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16	Open Diapason	30	8	Violoncello	30
16	Bourdon	30	8	Flute	30
16	Violone	30	16	Trombone	30
12	Quint Flute	30

Couplers
	Swell to Great			Great to Pedal
	Swell to Great Octaves			Swell to Pedal
	Choir to Great			Choir to Pedal
	Swell to Choir

Mechanicals
	Balanced Swell Pedal			Bellows Signal
	Crescendo Pedal

Sources:
     Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel web site: http://olgcny.org/
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Iasillo, Louis J. "Taken Out Passion Sunday 1957," organ stoplist book with Hook & Hastings organ, Op. 1480 (1891). Courtesy Rollin Smith.
     125th Anniversary booklet, pub. by St. Joseph's R.C. Church (Yorkville) New York City, 1998.
     Van Pelt, William T., compiler. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991.

Illustrations:
     Rust, John. Exterior; interior; Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, Op. 7799 (1959).

| NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |