Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City
 
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Church of the Covenant
 (Presbyterian)

310 East 42nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
http://covenantnyc.org/


Organ Specifications:
310 East 42nd Street (since 1871)
• III/ Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. (2014)
► II/16 M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 6763 (1939)
• II/17 George S. Hutchings, Op. 170 (1887)
28 Fourth Avenue at 35th Street (1865-93)
• III/ Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 111 (1882)
► II/33 Levi U. Stuart (1866)




Original Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) on Fourth Avenue at 35th Street - New York City  
Original Church of the Covenant
  
The Church of the Covenant was founded in 1860 by the Rev. Dr. George L. Prentiss, who was aligned with the "New School" or liberal Presbyterians. Early services were held in the chapel of the Home for the Friendless on East 23rd Street, and the society was formally organized in 1862. The onset of the Civil War delayed plans to erect a permanent church, but following the war's end an edifice was erected on the northwest corner of Fourth (Park) Avenue and 35th Street. Dedicated in 1865, the graceful stone building was designed in the Romanesque style by James Renwick, Jr., the noted architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral, All Saints Catholic Church and Grace Church in New York City, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

  Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City, ca.1900 (photo: Brick Presbyterian Church)
  Present Church (c.1900)
In 1870, the society established a mission school in a space above a stable on East 40th Street. Known as Covenant Chapel, the mission was headed by J. Cleveland Cady, the prominent New York architect perhaps best known for the original Metropolitan Opera House (1891) and the Museum of Natural History (1890). Cady designed a country chapel that was built on East 42nd Street, near Second Avenue, and opened in 1871.

In the years following the Civil War, growing business districts overtook residential areas and many residents moved northward into new apartment buildings. As the population shifted, membership in the congregation waned while Covenant Chapel soon became self-supporting and ultimately stronger than the Mother Church. In 1893, the remaining members of the original society consolidated with the nearby Brick Presbyterian Church, and the title of Church of the Covenant was transferred to the chapel. Proceeds from the sale of the original church on Fourth Avenue were turned over to the united congregation.

The "New" Church of the Covenant on 42nd Street continued to flourish. In 1927, a new Fellowship Hall was added to the church. As designed in a half-timbered Elizabethan style, the structure blended with the neighoring Tudor City, a residential complex built in the late 1920s. In 1950, 42nd Street was lowered by several feet to accomodate electric trolley traffic, necessitating the addition of a granite and limestone base below the entry level of the building, the repositioning of the entry doors and the addition of a new flight of bluestone steps leading up to these doors. In 1965, the Adams-Parkhurst Presbyterian Church, also designed by Cady, merged into the Church of the Covenant.

Julia Bulkley Cady, daughter of the architect, is known for the hymn, "We Praise Thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator" (paired with the hymntune "Kremser"), which was written at the request of J. Archer Gibson, organist at the Brick Presbyterian Church, who thought that the commonly-sung text, "We Gather Together", was too militaristic. The new text was first sung at Brick Church, where her family attended, on Thanksgiving Day 1902, and later appeared in Hymns of the Living Church in 1910. A month later, the author's father wished to use this hymn on December 25 at the Church of the Covenant, so Miss Cady added a fourth stanza:

      Thy love Thou didst show us, Thine only Son sending,
      Who came as a babe and whose bed was a stall,
      His blest life He gave us and then died to save us;
      We praise Thee, O Lord, for Thy gift to us all.
Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City, ca.1900 (photo: Brick Presbyterian Church)
Interior of present church (c.1900)
     
Peragallo Pipe Organ Co.
Paterson, N.J. (2014)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 25 ranks


Specifications of this organ have not yet been provided.
       
  M.P. Möller organ, Oop. 6763 (1939) in Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City
M. P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 6763 (1939)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 20 registers, 14 stops, 16 ranks






Console of M.P. Möller organ, Oop. 6763 (1939) in Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City  
The present organ was built in 1939 by M.P. Möller of Hagerstown, Md., under the direction of Richard O. Whitelegg, tonal director. The Möller Factory Specification (Mar. 27, 1939) shows that this organ incorporated most of the pipes from the previous 1887 Hutchings organ but included five new ranks. Möller also redesigned the old Hutchings case and moved it to the opposite side of the sanctuary. An electric two-manual, detached drawknob console was provided to control the electro-pneumatic instrument. Möller indicated that the organ would be completed by June 20, 1939. The organ was dedicated on October 31, 1939.

 

     

 

     
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Diapason *
61
8
   Horn
61
8
   Open Flute
73
     Tremulant  
8
   Gemshorn *
61
     Great to Great 16'  
8
   Dolce *
61
     Great to Great 8' (Unison Off)
4
   Octave
61
     Great to Great 4'  
4
   Flute (fr. Open Flute)
—
     Blank  
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Diapason
73
8
   Oboe
61
8
   Rohrgedeckt *
73
     Tremolo  
8
   Salicional
85
     Swell to Swell 16'  
8
   Voix Celeste (TC)
61
     Swell to Swell 8' (Unison Off)
4
   Flauto Traverso *
73
    
Swell to Swell 4'
 
4
   Salicional (fr. 8')
—
     Blank  
    Cymbal III ranks +
183
    
+ knob is engraved Mixture III
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Diapason (ext. GT)
12
8
   Bourdon (fr. 16')
—
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Rohrgedeckt
SW
16
   Rohrgedeckt (ext. SW)
12
        
           
* new pipes
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'    
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) Pedal Combs. On or Off (in keycheek)
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) Pedal Combs. On or Off (in keycheek)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)  
Full Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)  
  General Cancel (thumb)  
  Set (toe)  
               
Accessories
    Balanced Expression Pedal – Great Organ   Great to Pedal Revers. (thumb & toe)
    Balanced Expression Pedal – Swell Organ   Tutti Reversible (thumb & toe)
    Balanced Crescendo Pedal with Indicator    
       
  Choir Rehearsal showing 1887 Hutchings Organ, ca. 1900, at Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) - New York City (photo: Brick Presbyterian Church)
  Choir Rehearsal showing
1887 Hutchings Organ (ca. 1900)
George S. Hutchings
Boston, Mass. – Opus 170 (1887)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 17 stops








The original organ in the present church was built in 1887 by George S. Hutchings of Boston. Hutchings installed the self-contained, two-manual organ in a plain case located in the front right corner of the sanctuary.

Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
       
  1882 Roosevelt Organ at Original Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) on Fourth Avenue at 35th Street - New York City (photo: Brick Presbyterian Church)
Fourth Avenue interior with
1882 Roosevelt Organ
Organ in original Church of the Covenant:

Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 111 (1882)
Mechanical action
3 manuals




In 1882, Hilborne L. Roosevelt rebuilt and enlarged the 1866 organ by Levi U. Stuart. When this congregation merged with Brick Presbyterian Church in 1893, the organ was moved in 1894 by Geo. Jardine & Son (as Opus 1127) to St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn.

Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.

 
      
Organ in original Church of the Covenant:

Levi U. Stuart
New York City (1866)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 28 stops, 33 ranks


The following specification was recorded in an organ notebook by Lynnwood Farnam (1885-1930), noted concert organist of the early 20th century.

     

     
Great Organ (Manual I) – 56 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
56
4
   Gemshorn
56
8
   First Open Diapason
56
4
   Flute Harmonic
56
8
   Second Open Diapason
56
3
   Twelfth
56
8
   Gamba
56
2
   Fifteenth
56
8
   Salicional
56
     Sesquialtera, 5 ranks
280?
8
   Stop Diapason
56
8
   Trumpet
56
4
   Principal
56
4
   Clarion
56
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 56 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
56
4
   Principal
56
8
   Open Diapason
56
2
   Fifteenth
56
8
   Dulciana
56
     Cornet, 2 ranks
112?
8
   Stop Diapason, treble
44
8
   Hautboy
56
8
   Stop Diapason, bass
12
        
               
Pedal Organ – 19 notes [CCC to G] [sic]
16
   Double Open Diapason
19
12
   Quint
19
16
   Bourdon
19
4
   Principal
19
16
   Violoncello
19
16
   Trombone
19
               
Accessories
    Swell to Great       Vox Tremulant  
    Swell to Pedals       Bellows Signal  
    Great to Pedals          
               
Pneumatic Composition Stops
   
Full Chorus Solo Flute
       
Sources:
     The American Organist (April 1942). Specifications of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 6763 (1939). Courtesy Jeff Scofield.
     Church of the Covenant web site: http://covenantnyc.org/
     Cyber Hymnal web site: www.cyberhymnal.org
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Farnam, Lynnwood. "Organ Notebook" with specifications of Levi U. Stuart organ (1866). John de Lancie Library, The Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia; Sally Branca, archivist. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     King, Moses. King's Handbook of New York City: An Outline History & Description of the American Metropolis. Boston: Moses King, 1892.
     Knapp, Shepherd. A History of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the City of New York. Published by the Trustees of the Brick Presbyterian Church, 1908.
     "The New Church of the Covenant," The New York Times (Dec. 17, 1894).
     Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977.
     Partners for Sacred Places web site: www.sacredplaces.org
     Roosevelt Organ Company Opus List, compiled by Sand Lawn. Courtesy David Scribner.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications (Mar. 27, 1939) of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 6763 (1939).
     Trupiano, Larry. M.P. Möller correspondence (Apr. 24, 1939) to Richard O. Whitelegg regarding changes to contract.
     "Two Congregations to Unite," The New York Times (Nov. 30, 1893).

Illustrations:
     Knapp, Shepherd. A History of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the City of New York. Exterior, original church; Hilborne L. Roosevelt organ, Op. 111 (1882); George S. Hutchings organ, Op. 170 (1887).
     Trupiano, Larry. Console and case of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 6763 (1939).