New Utrecht Reformed Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Photo: New Utrecht Reformed Church)
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New Utrecht Reformed Church

1828 83rd Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11214
http://www.newutrechtchurch.org


Organ Specifications:
84th Street at 18th Avenue (since 1828)
► III/25 J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 595 (1947)
► II/12 J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 147 (1875)
Main Street (now 84th St.) near 16th Avenue (1700-1828)
• unknown


New Utrecht Reformed Church is one of the original churches of the Reformed Church in America and was established in 1677. The first church building was constructed in 1700 at Main Street (now Liberty Pole Boulevard, also 84th Street) just off 16th Avenue, on the site now occupied by the Metropolitan Baptist Church and right next to the New Utrecht Reformed Church Cemetery. The original church was an octagonal-shaped building with a tall spire. During the American Revolution (1775-1783) the British used it as a hospital and as a riding school. The present church sanctuary, using the stones from the original church, was built in 1828-29 at 18th Avenue and Liberty Pole Boulevard (also 84th Street). It is a rare example of a rural church in a picturesque setting in New York City. Like St. Augustine Church in Manhattan, built in the same year, its essentially Georgian design was superficially "Gothicized" by the addition of pointed-arch windows and pinnacles on the tower. Few ecclesiastical structures from this period exemplify this traditional style quite as handsomely and as well as this church. This church was one of the first buildings to be officially declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on March 15, 1966 and both the church and the cemetery are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
               
J.H. & C.S. Odell
Yonkers, N.Y. – Opus 595 (1947)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 34 registers, 25 stops, 25 ranks


The contract (Nov. 5, 1947) shows that J.H. & C.S. Odell was contracted to rebuild and enlarge the previous organ, Odell's Op. 147, at a cost of $12,500. This organ was described in the December 1948 issue of The Diapason:

                                                            
The organ is a gift of Jeremiah Rutger Van Brunt, descendant of one of the founders of New Utrecht in 1657, in memory of his wife, Anna Gertrude Remsen Van Brunt, and replaces a two-manual tracker instrument installed by J.H. & C.S. Odell in 1875. Most of the old pipes have been used in the rebuilding and enlarging project. Mr. Van Brunt, 81 years old, recalls that as a boy of 8 he was the first to hear the old organ played by the men making the installation while he was at work in his grandfather's onion field.
     The specifications for the instrument were prepared by William H. Odell in collaboration with Ethel Watson Usher, director of music, and the Rev. Martin Paul Luther, M.A., pastor of the church. George J. Grathwohl of the Odell Company supervised the installation.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
2 2/3
   Twelfth
61
8
   Gamba
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Keraulophon
61
     Tremolo
8
   Melodia
61
    
Cathedral Chimes
20 tubes
4
   Principal
61
      
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
2 2/3
   Nazard
61
8
   Violin Diapason
73
2
   Flautina
61
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Voix Celeste (TC)
61
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
73
     Tremolo  
4
   Rohrflöte
73
        
 
      
 
      
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Dulciana (TC)
—
4
   Dulcet (fr. Dulciana)
—
8
   Clarinet Flute
61
2 2/3
   Dolce Quint (fr. Dulciana)
—
8
   Dulciana
80
2
   Flageolet
61
8
   Unda Maris (TC)
49
8
   Clarinet
61
4
   Violina
61
     Tremolo  
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Sub Bass
56
8
   Bass Flute (fr. Bourdon)
—
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Dulciana
CH
8
   Open Diapason (fr. Sub Bass)
—
4
   Octave (fr. Sub Bass)
—
               
J.H. & C.S. Odell
New York City – Opus 147 (1875)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 12 stops, 12 ranks


The handwritten contract, dated July 28, 1875, states that the J.H. & C.S. Odell Company of New York City would install at two-manual organ with 25 pedals "on or about the first of November next." Built at a cost of $2,200, the Odell organ was a "Specification C" model.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Principal
58
8
   Keraulophon
58
4
   Wald Flute
58
8
   Stopped Diapason Bass
12
2
   Fifteenth
58
8
   Clarionet Flute
46
        
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Violina
58
8
   Dulciana
58
8
   Oboe (TC)
46
8
   Stopped Diapason Bass
12
     Tremulant  
8
   Stopped Diapason Treble
46
        
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 25 notes
16
   Grand Bourdon
25
        
               
Couplers, &C.
    Reversible Coupler (patented)     Swell to Pedal
    Swell to Great     Bellows Signal
    Great to Pedal      
               
Sources:
    "Odell Three-manual for Historic Church," The Diapason (Dec. 1948). Stoplist of J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ, Op. 595 (1947). Courtesy Jeff Scofield.
    New Utrecht Reformed Church website: http://www.newutrechtchurch.org
    Petty, Bynum. J.H. & C.S. Odell Annotated Opus List.
    Trupiano, Larry. Factory Contract (July 28, 1875) for J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ, Op. 147.

Illustration:
    Friends of Historic New Utrecht website: http://www.historicnewutrecht.org