First Reformed Episcopal Church


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St. Albans Church
(First Reformed Episcopal Church)

317 East 50th Street
New York, N.Y. 10022
http://www.saintalbansnyc.org/

Organ Specifications:
317 East 50th Street
Present building (since 1931)
► III/31 Schantz Organ Company, Op. 2054 (1993)
• II/ Allen Organ Company electronic (1965)
► III/27 Henry Pilcher's Sons, Op. 1525 (1932)
First building (1921-1930) – orig. Beekman Hill M.E. Church
• III/41 George Jardine & Son (1877) – from previous church?
551 Madison Avenue at 55th Street (1877-1920)
• III/41 George Jardine & Son (1877)
Madison Avenue at 47th Street (1874-1877)
• unknown

The denomination known as the Reformed Episcopal Church was founded in 1873 in response to a long debate over the excessive "High Church" tendencies by the Protestant Episcopal Church and its exclusive attitude toward other denominations. The Rt. Rev. Dr. George David Cummins (1822-1876), Assistant Bishop of Kentucky, had been rebuked for participating in a Communion Service at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Subsequently, Bishop Cummins, joined by eight clergymen and twenty lay members, withdrew from the Protestant Episcopal Church and formed a new jurisdiction. Services were held in Lyric Hall, on Sixth Avenue, until May 1874, when the new society was able to secure its own church (possibly the former Church of the Resurrection, a little Gothic stone building at the corner of Madison Avenue and 47th Street). Bishop Cummins became gravely ill in 1874 and was no longer able to function as cleric. He was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. William T. Sabine, who had been rector of the Church of the Atonement at Madison Avenue and 28th Street. (Dr. Sabine became infamous while at the Atonement when, in December 1870, he refused to conduct a funeral for the actor George Holland. At the time, actors were esteemed only a little higher than prostitutes. When asked if there was someplace else where the funeral could be held, Dr. Sabine responded, "I believe there's a little church around the corner that does that sort of thing." He was referring to the Church of the Transfiguration on East 29th Street.)


551 Madison Avenue (1877-1920)

In 1876, the congregation began construction on their first church building, located at 551 Madison Avenue and 55th Street. The first services were held in the basement on Sunday, April 22, 1877, and the church was expected to be completed and dedicated about the middle of May. As designed by James Stroud in the Victorian Gothic style, the building measured 66 feet by 96 feet and was built of Newark stone with rock face and Berlin stone dressing. At the corner was a square bell tower surmounted by a pyramid steeple. The interior featured an open timber roof of carved ribs sprung from corbelled columns against the walls, a ceiling that rose to a height of 63 feet, and woodwork of ash. Approximately 900 could be accomodated on the main floor, and the gallery provided seating for 200; the basement Sunday-school had space for 600 scholars. The building cost $107,000, including the organ, and the lots cost $42,500. The congregation remained at this location until November 1919, when the property was sold for $325,000 to the Allerton House Company, who then razed the church and erected a seventeen-story apartment hotel for bachelors. Services were held in a leased building while the congregation determined the type of new building they would need for the future.


	317 East 50th Street (1921-1930)

In 1921, the Reformed Episcopal congregation purchased the former Beekman Hill Methodist Episcopal Church after that society merged with the East Sixty-first Methodist Church. Located on 50th Street, east of Second Avenue, the property included an 1873 church building and adjoining manse. The new church home was dedicated on Sunday, February 20, 1921, with a service that included three baptisms, a celebration of Holy Communion, and a sermon by the Rev. Percy T. Edrop, the rector.

By the late 1920s, the 1873 building was in poor condition and the trustees reported that there were no funds to remodel it. A plan was devised in which the church would lease its property to the Labor Holding Corporation, who would then construct an income-producing apartment building that would include space on the lower floors for the church and all its activities. The old church building was razed and the present skyscraper church, a 12-story and penthouse apartment house designed by George G. Miller, was built as part of the Beekman Hill Apartment Corporation. Gothic details and the inscription, "To Testify the Gospel of the Grace of God," set apart the church portion of the building. The cornerstone was dedicated on February 16, 1931, and the first service in the new church facility took place on September 13, 1931.

The congregation is now known as St. Albans Church.

Schantz Organ Company
Orrville, Ohio – Opus 2054 (1993)
Electro-pneumatic key action
Solid-state combination action (16 levels)
3 manuals, 37 registers, 26 stops, 31 ranks

In 1993, the aging electronic organ was replaced by a new pipe organ built by the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio. The organ is installed in chambers across the front of the chancel and speaks through three tone openings; the façade pipes are from the Great 8' Principal. Schantz provided a three-manual drawknob console that is located with the choir at the left side of the chancel.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, exposed (3" pressure)

Principal (1-17 in façade)

Trumpet

Bourdon

Chimes (from previous organ)

Octave

Great 16'

Waldflöte

Unison Off

Super Octave

Great 4'

Fourniture IV ranks *

183

* draws 2' Super Octave

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (3½" pressure)

Rohrflöte

Trompette

Salicional

Hautbois (fr. Basson)

—

Voix Celeste (TC)

Clairon (fr. Trompette)

—

Prinzipal

Tremulant

Harmonic Flute

Swell 16'

Harmonic Piccolo (fr. 4')

—

Unison Off

Plein Jeu III ranks

183

Swell 4'

Basson

Choir/Positif Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed (3" pressure)

Cor de Nuit

Schalmei **

Prestant

Tremulant

Koppelflöte

Choir/Positif 16'

2 2/3

Nazard

Unison Off

Gemshorn

Choir Positif 4'

1 3/5

Tierce

** actually a Rohrschalmei

Pedal Organ – 32 notes (3½" pressure)

Principal (ext. GT)

Stopped Flute (fr. Subbass)

—

Subbass

Mixture II ranks

Bourdon (ext. SW)

Trombone (ext. GT)

Principal

Basson

Bass Flute (fr. Subbass)

—

Trumpet

Choralbass

Hautbois

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8', 4'

Choir/Positif to Great 16', 8', 4'

Swell to Pedal 8', 4'

Choir/Positif to Swell 8'

Choir/Positif to Pedal 8', 4'

Swell to Choir/Positif 16', 8', 4'

Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Great to Choir/Positif 8'

Adjustable Combinations

Great Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)
Swell Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)
Choir/Positif Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)
Pedal Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (toe)
General	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (thumb & toe)
	General Cancel (thumb)
	Set (thumb)

Reversibles

Great to Pedal (thumb & toe)

Choir/Positif to Pedal (thumb & toe)

Swell to Pedal (thumb & toe)

Sforzando (thumb & toe)

Pedal Movements

Balanced Swell Pedal

Balanced Choir/Positif Pedal

Crescendo Pedal

Henry Pilcher's Sons
Louisville, Ky. – Opus 1525 (1932)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 31 registers, 27 stops, 27 ranks

The original organ in the present church was moved from the previous building by Henry Pilcher's Sons of Louisville. Pilcher's provided several new stops, as indicated below, and, presumably a new console. This organ was completed in January 1932 and cost $12,550. In 1965, the Pilcher organ became unplayable and was replaced by a two-manual Allen electronic instrument.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes

Open Diapason

Fifteenth

Open Diapason

Tuba *

Triaulephone (wood)

Chimes

Gamba *

Tremolo *

Principal

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes

Bourdon (wood)

Principal

Open Diapason

Piccolo (wood & metal)

Clarinet Flute

Cornopean *

Viol d'Orchestre *

Oboe

Viol Celeste *

Chimes

Aeoline *

Tremolo *

Flute Harmonique

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed

English Diapason *

Flageolet

Keraulophone

French Horn

Dulciana

Chimes

20 bells

Gedeckt (wood)

Tremolo *

Flauto Traverso (wood)

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Open Diapason (wood)

Flute * (fr. Contra Bourdon)

—

Contra Bourdon (wood)

Cello

Lieblich Gedeckt *

Tuba *

* added by Pilcher

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8, 4

Great to Great 16, 4, Unison Off

Swell to Pedal 8, 4

Swell to Swell 16, 4, Unison Off

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Choir 16, 4, Unison Off

Swell to Great 16, 8, 4

Swell Separation

Choir to Great 16, 8, 4

Great Separation

Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4

Choir Separation

Combinations

Great Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4
Swell Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4-5
Choir Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4
Pedal Organ	Pistons 1-2-3-4
Cancellors	Pistons 1-2-3-4
Generals	Pistons 1-2-3-4
General Cancel

Pedal Movements

Swell Expression Pedal

Unison Couplers Only

Choir Expression Pedal

Sub and Supers On

Crescendo Pedal

Coupler Cancel

Great to Pedal Reversible

Sforzando Pedal

Accessories

Wind Indicator

Sforzando Indicator

Crescendo Indicator

Organists Bench

Geo. Jardine & Son Organ in First Reformed Episcopal Church - New York City

Organ in first building at 317 East 50th Street:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1877)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 41 stops

The photo at right of the former Beekman Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, which First Reformed moved to in 1921, shows an organ that has pipe flats that are identical to those of the 1877 Geo. Jardine & Son organ in the previous church at 551 Madison Avenue. It seems likely that the Jardine organ was moved to the new church (by an unknown builder) in 1921. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.

551 Madison Ave. building (1876) - First Reformed Episcopal Church - New York City (Photo: First Reformed Episcopal Church)

Organ in church at 551 Madison Avenue:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1877)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 41 stops

Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.

Sources:
     The American Organist (Nov. 1930). Stoplist of Henry Pilcher's Sons organ, Op. 1525 (1932). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "A Church Debt Paid," The New York Times (Feb. 16, 1880).
     "Church In New Home," The New York Times (Feb. 21, 1921).
     Church of the Transfiguration ("the Little Church Around the Corner") web site: http://www.littlechurch.org/
     "Church To Be Razed," The New York Times (June 29, 1919).
     "Church To Share Building," The New York Times (Apr. 30, 1930).
     "Church-Home Stone Laid," The New York Times (Feb. 17, 1931).
     "Dedication of the Beekman Hill M. E. Church," The New York Times (Apr. 21, 1873).
     The Diapason (Nov. 1930). Stoplist of Henry Pilcher's Sons organ, Op. 1525 (1932). Courtesy Jeff Scofield.
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     "Founded Twenty Years Ago," The New York Times (Dec. 3, 1893).
     Glück, Sebastian M. Electronic correspondence (Mar. 18, 2015) with corrections to specification.
     "Madison Av. Church To Go," The New York Times (Sep. 21, 1919).
     Organ Historical Society Archives. Pilcher Ledger Book. Specification of Henry Pilcher's Sons organ, Op. 1525 (1932). Courtesy Bynum Petty, Archivist.
     "Reformed Episcopal Services," The New York Times (Apr. 16, 1877).
     The Reformed Episcopal Church website: http://www.recus.org/
     "Topics of Interest to the Churchgoer," The New York Times (Sep. 12, 1931).

Illustrations:
     First Reformed Episcopal Church Archives. Courtesy Bernadette Hoke.
     Lawson, Steven E. Schantz Organ console.
     Rust, John. Exterior; color interior of present church.

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