Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church / Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton


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Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
(Roman Catholic)

7 State Street
New York, N.Y. 10004
http://www.setonshrine.com/

Organ Specifications:
► III/70s Rodgers Instruments Model 960 electronic
• II/ Delaware Organ Co. (c.1964)
► II/7 Delaware Organ Co. (c.1964) – Lower Church

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary began as a shelter for young Irish female immigrants. It was due to the efforts of Charlotte Grace O'Brien, an Irish Protestant, that Cardinal McCloskey gave his blessing in 1883 to the founding of the Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Protection of Irish Immigrant Girls. Father John J. Riordan was appointed director, and in 1885 he moved the mission to the former James Watson house, built in 1793 at 7 State Street. The house was located near Castle Garden where Father Riordan met arriving immigrant ships each day. In 1887, Archbishop Corrigan made the mission a parish. Surviving ledgers at the church list more than 60,000 names of young women who were sheltered in the mission over the next half century.

In the 1960s, the archdiocese acquired the adjacent building at 8 State Street that had been the residence (from 1801-1803) of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821), founder of the Sisters of Charity and the first native-born American to be canonized. As a young woman, Seton was a member of Trinity Church, the mother church of Episcopalians in New York City. During a trip to Italy with her husband in hope of reviving his health, she became immersed in Catholicism. Mr. Seton died in 1803, and the young widow, with five children, turned to the Catholic Church and became a member of nearby St. Peter's Church in 1805. In 1808, she founded a small school in Baltimore, Md. A year later, she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, an order of teaching sisters. Mother Seton was widely known for her work with the poor in Baltimore and New York.

To commemorate Mother Seton's beatification in 1963, Cardinal Spellman had the Our Lady of the Rosary church rebuilt to include a shrine to Mother Seton. The old residence at 8 State Street was demolished and in its place was erected a new building that included the shrine and church on the upper floor. Above the portal of the church is a statue of St. Seton. The interior of the Watson mansion at 7 State Street was gutted and rebuilt as the rectory. Shanley & Sturges designed Federal style building that was dedicated and blessed by Cardinal Spellman on September 8, 1965. Following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Our Lady of the Rosary offered its space to Trinity Church, temporarily uniting Seton with her Episcopal roots.

Rodgers Instruments LLC Hillsboro, Ore. – Model 960 Solid-state key, stop and combination action 3 manuals, 70 digital stops

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16	Violone	2	Waldflöte
8	Principal	1 3/5	Terz
8	Flûte Harmonique		Fourniture IV ranks
8	Rohrflöte		Scharf IV ranks
8	Gemshorn	16	Posaune
4	Octave	8	Trompete
4	Spitzflöte		Tremulant
2 2/3	Quinte		Chimes
2	Super Octave

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16	Bourdon Doux		Plein Jeu IV ranks
8	Geigen Principal	16	Contre Basson
8	Bourdon	8	Trompette
8	Viole de Gambe	8	Hautbois
8	Gambe Celeste	8	Voix Humaine
8	Flûte Celeste II ranks	4	Clairon
4	Prestant		Tremulant
4	Flauto Traverso		Swell 16'
2 2/3	Nazard		Unison Off
2	Octavin		Swell 4'
1 3/5	Tierce

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16	Quintade		Mixture IV ranks
8	English Diapason	16	Dulzian
8	Holzgedackt	8	Trompette Harmonique
8	Erzähler Celeste II ranks	8	Cromorne
8	Viola Celeste II ranks	8	Festival Trumpet
4	Prinzipal		Tremulant
4	Koppelflöte		Harp
2	Oktav		Choir 16'
2	Zauberflöte		Unison Off
1 1/3	Larigot		Choir 4'
1	Sifflöte

Solo Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed [tilt tabs on coupler rail]
8	Violoncello Celeste II ranks	8	English Horn
8	Flauto Mirabilis		Solo on II
8	Harmonic Flute		Solo on I
8	French Horn

Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32	Contre Violone	4	Nachthorn
32	Contre Bourdon		Mixture IV ranks
16	Principal	32	Contre Bombarde
16	Subbass	16	Bombarde
16	Violone	16	Basson (SW)
16	Bourdon Doux (SW)	8	Trompette
8	Octave	4	Clarion
8	Gedackt	4	Rohrschalmei
4	Choralbass

Couplers
	Great to Pedal 8'		Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'
	Swell to Pedal 8', 4'		Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
	Choir to Pedal 8', 4'		Choir to Swell 8'
	Solo to Pedal 8'		Swell 16', Unison Off, 4'
	Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'		Choir 16', Unison Off, 4'

Thumb Pistons (all thumb pistons are lighted except Set and General Cancel)
	Generals 1-12		Antiphonal On
	Great Divisionals 1-6		Main Off
	Swell Divisionals 1-6		Melody from Swell
	Choir Divisionals 1-6		Melody from Choir Bass
	General Cancel		GT/PED Enclosed (on CH shoe)
	Memory Levels M1-M6		Festival Trumpet Enclosed
	Set		Solo to Choir Expression
	Tutti I		Orchestral Crescendo
	Tutti II		Flute Tremulant II
	Great to Pedal Reversible		Main Tremulant II
	Swell to Pedal Reversible		GT/PED Pipes Off
	Choir to Pedal Reversible		GT/PED Ancillary On
	Swell to Great Reversible		Choir Pipes Off
	Choir to Great Reversible		Choir Ancillary On
	GT/CH Manual Transfer

Pedal Movements and Toe Pistons
	Swell Expression Pedal		Contre Bombarde 32' Reversible
	Choir Expression Pedal		Contre Violone 32' Reversible
	Crescendo Pedal		Contre Bourdon 32' Reversible
	Generals 1-12		Great to Pedal Reversible
	Pedal Divisionals 1-6		Swell to Pedal Reversible
	Tutti I		Choir to Pedal Reversible
	Tutti II		Zimbelstern Reversible

Delaware Organ Company, Inc.
Tonawanda, N.Y. (c.1964)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals?

The first organ in the present church was built c.1964 by the Delaware Organ Company of Tonawanda, N.Y. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.

Delaware Organ (c.1964) in the Lower Church of Our Lady of Rosary Catholic Church - New York City

Organ in the Lower Church:

Delaware Organ Company, Inc.
Tonawanda, N.Y. (c.1964)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 20 stops, 7 ranks

The organ in the Lower Church was built c.1964 by the Delaware Organ Company of Tonawanda, N.Y. This self-contained unit organ has pipes with open-toe voicing on 2¼" wind pressure. The two-manual stop-key console was attached to the case. Robert Colby, president of Delaware, drew up the design in consultation with the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Richard B. Curtin of the archdiocesan Music Commision. Leopold Lapierre was the organist at the time. This organ no longer exists.

Manual I – 61 notes

Principal

Gedeckt

Super Octave

Gemshorn

Mixture III ranks

Octave

Manual II – 61 notes

Gedeckt

Gemshorn

Principal

Gedeckt

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Gedeckt

Octave

Principal

Gedeckt

Mixture III ranks

Gemshorn

Stop Analysis
		Pipes
16	Bourdon	97
8	Principal	85
8	Gemshorn	73
4	Octave	61
	Mixture III ranks	183
	Total	499

Sources:
     "Battery Church Becoming Shrine," The New York Times (Oct. 7, 1963).
     "Cardinal Dedicates State Street Shrine To Mother Seton," The New York Times (Sep. 9, 1965).
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Nelson, George. Specifications of Delaware Organ (c.1964) in Lower Church.
     Shelley, Thomas J. The Bicentennial History of the Archdiocese of New York 1808-2008. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2007.
     Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton web site: http://www.setonshrine.com/

Illustrations:
     Nelson, George. Delaware Organ (c.1964) in Lower Church.
     Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton web site. Exterior and interior.

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