Booklet : 1943 Photo Reproduction : circa 1894
Organ: RS Williams & Son, 1894, 3/34)
The inscription on the arch reads:
Holiness Becometh Thine House, O Lord
Hymns Posted: # 337, 454, 428
Grace Methodist Church
The first pipe organ in Grace Methodist Church was installed by S.R. Warren & Son in 1885, but a few years later it had deteriorated to the point of receiving an ultimate insult: "The organ at Grace Church has arrived at that state of perfection when it is difficult to tell it from a circus calliope." When a new three-manual, 34-stop organ was installed by R.S. Williams & Son, Oshawa, in 1894, the decrepit instrument was transferred to Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The newspaper account of the new installation consisted entirely of a long discourse on the organ's technical innovations, which were thought to be resistant to Winnipeg's severe climatic changes. Even so, more than half of the report of the opening recital by a Minneapolis organist consisted of a series of observations on the theme that the organ needed "a good shaking down," for an intermittently-sounding pedal note marred the opening selection, and some of the valves were sticking. The instrument tended to go out of tune before the end of the program, perhaps due to a drop in the temperature of the church on the cold December evening. Neverthelesss, the voicing was rated as excellent, as were the English-style diapasons and the reeds, some of them imported from France.
An even more magnificent organ was acquired by the church in 1907: a four-manual, 46-stop instrument built by Casavant Freres, the largest organ in the history of the company to that date. The Casavant brothers, Joseph-Claver and Samuel-Marie, had established their factory in St. Hyacinth, Quebec, in 1879, following several years touring Europe, inspecting organs, and visitng workshops. In the following years their fame spread steadily beyond the town and cities of Quebec. The first Casavant organ in Manitoba was installed in the Parish Church, St.Norbert, just south of Winnipeg, in 1899. During the period under consideration, the company installed eightenn complete instruments in Winnipeg and five in rural towns.
The installation of the new Grace Church organ was celebrated in the evening of New Year's Day 1908 by a concert that included the choir, soloists, and a recital. The newspaper coverage of the event reported that the audience of nearly eight hundred people was delighted with the new "chest of whistles" and with the performance by the organist George Bowles (composer of the operetta, "The Manhaters of Manhattan," a Christmas cantata, and other works, when he was not otherwise occupied as the manager of the Winnipeg's Union Bank), although it was doubted that the ranks of reed pipes would remain in tune due to the severe temperature variations in a church heated by hot air.
The eventual fate of the Grace Church organ is a unique story in the history of organs in Manitoba. Around 1942 Stuart Kolbinson, then a young man 24 years old, was working wth C. Franklin Legge, the Toronto organ manufacturer, servicing a small Winnipeg organ built by a local company, probably Bolton. Legge introduced his assistant to the Grace Church organ, saying, "This will be for sale someday." Legge's prediction proved correct. Although Grace Church was regarded as the mother church of Methodism in the west, the wealthy congregation of the downtown church drifted away into the new city suburbs over the years, and the church building was demolished in 1955 to make way for a parking lot. Kolbinson bought the Casavant instrument for $2,000 and transported it to his prairie farm in the Kindersley district in Saskatchewan, where it was stored for several years. By 1963 Kolbinson had constructed a special building to house the organ, and it was ready to play. As stories of the heritage instrument spread, organists from as far away as Oregon came to try it out. Kolbinson left the farm in 1971 to enter the hotel business in Vancouver, then moved to Victoria, leaving his organ behind at the farm. After selling the farm in 1976, he returned there in 1979 to pack up his organ for the trip to Victoria. Although the organ had remained in an unheated building for several years, it played well except for being a little out of tune. Kolbinson, now retired, built a large extension to his Victoria home, including a bell tower, to accomodate the large instrument. In later years he reflected on his experience:
"I have had many difficulties, but it is worth it, and I am sure that after I am gone the organ will still be the pleasure of those who will in the future have care of it. There is no reason why it won't be singing a century from today.........
Occasionally I have a visit from someone who knew old Grace Church in its glory days, but as time passes these get fewer as the passing years take their toll. All the clever hands that built (the organ) so well have long since laid down their tools for the last time. All honor to them, who took leather, wood, lead, tin and zinc and fashioned an instrument whose voice shall always sing their praise."
* * *
France
February 27, 1988
Dear Mr. Kolbinson,
I was very interested in reading your letter of February 12th to Casavant.
I shall be very pleased to meet you next time you travel east; meanwhile I am at your disposal if you want to discuss tonal matters related to improving the tonal architecture of Opus 301.
I understand you have a keen interest in the French Classic organ. As my home is not far from Poitiers and fairly close to Souvigny, I know those two instruments quite well. The Souvigny organ is and 8 foot instrument; there is no 16 reed in it, the Pedal has only Flûtes 8 and 4 and Trompette 8 and Clairon 4. If you want a 16 reed for a Pedal division of Opus 301, it might be more useful to get a Douçaine 16. Concerning the mixtures, I must warn you against too high-pitched cymbales which usually sound very disappointing in dead acoustics (but maybe your room displays cathedral-like acoustics).
It is rewarding to hear that an organ built more than 80 years ago still works well.
With my best wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Jean-Louis Coignet
* * *
Compass of Manuals C C to C 61 keys
Compass of Pedals C C C to F 30 keys
Feet Notes
GREAT
1. Double Open 16 65
2. Open Diapason 8 65
3. Geigen Principal 8 65
4. Doppel Flute 8 65
5. Gemshorn 8 65
6. Wald Flute 4 65
7. Principal 4 65
8. Fifteenth 2 61
9. Mixture 3 rks 195
10. Trumpet 8 65
SWELL ORGAN
11. Bourdon 16 61
12. Open Diapason 8 61
13. Stopped Diapason 8 61
14. Clarabella Flute 8 61
15. Viola da Gamba 8 61
16. Voix Celeste 8 49
17. Dolcissimo 8 61
18. Traverse Flute 4 61
19. Violina 4 61
20. Flautino 2 61
21. Dolce Cornet 3 rks 183
22. Contra Fagotto 16 61
23. Cornopean 8 61
24. Oboe & Bassoon 8 61
25. Vox Humana 8 61
CHOIR ORGAN (in a Swell box)
25. Violin Diapason 8 61
26. Melodia 8 61
27. Dulciana 8 61
28. Harmonic Flute 4 61
29. Flageolet 2 61
30. Clarinet 8 61
SOLO
31. Stentorphone 8 61
32. Quintadena 8 61
33. Rohr Flute 8 61
34. Harmonic Flute 4 61
35. Orchestral Oboe 8 61
36. Cor Anglais 8 61
37. Tuba 8 61
PEDAL
38. Double Open 16 30
39. Bourdon 16 30
40. Gedeckt (from no. 11) 16 30
41. Flute (from no. 38) 8 30
42. Cello 8 30
43. Bourdon (from no. 39) 8 30
44. Trombone 16 30
45. Trumpet (from no. 44) 8 30
COUPLERS (Tilting Tablets)
46. Great to Pedal
47. Swell to Pedal
48. Choir to Pedal
49. Solo to Pedal
50 Swell to Great
51. Swell to Choir
52. Swell at Octaves
53. Swell Super Octave to Great
54. Swell Sub Octave to Great
55. Choir to Great
56. Choir Sub Octave to Great
57. Choir at Octaves
58. Solo to Great
59. Solo to Swell
60. Solo to Choir
61. Tremolo to Swell
62. Tremolo to Choir
63. Tremolo to Solo
64. Great at Octaves
ADJUSTABLE PISTONS
Four to Swell
Four to Great
Three to Choir
Three to Solo
Two to Pedal
Four Reversible to Pedal
Four Adjustable Pistons to act on all stops and Couplers
One Adjuster
Wind Indicator
Crescendo Indicator
PEDALS
One Balanced Swell Pedal
One Balanced choir Pedal
One Balanced Crescendo Pedal to bring on all stops gradually without disturbing the knobs.
* * *
GREAT (3 ½”) SWELL (3 ½”)
Open Diapason 16 Bourdon 16
Open Diapason 8 Violin Diapason 8
Geigen Principal 8 Stopped Diapason 8
Gemshorn 8 Clarabella 8
Doppelflöte 8 Viola da Gamba 8
Octave 4 Voix Celeste 8
Flute 4 Aeoline 8
Fifteenth 2 Traverse Flute 4
Mixture III Violin Diapason 4
Trumpet 8 Principal 2
Cornet III (2 2/3)
Contra Fagotto 16
Cornopean 8
Oboe 8
Vox Humana 8
Tremulant
CHOIR (3 ½”)
Melodia 8
Open Diapason 8
Dulciana 8
Fl. Dolce 4 SOLO (7”)
Piccolo 2
Clarinet 8 Diapason 8
Rohr Flute 8
Quintadena 8
PEDAL (3 ½”) Orch. Oboe 8
Cor Anglais 8
Open Wood 16 Tuba 8
Bourdon 16 other?
Principal (Gt) 16
Lieb. Bourdon (Sw) 16
Bass Flute 8
Bourdon 8 B.O.B. blower, circa 1964
Violoncello 8
Trombone 16
Tromba 8
* Note: The Solo division was stolen sometime between 1971 and 1979.
* * *
GREAT POSITIV SWELL
Gedeckt 16
Bourdon 16 Bourdon 8 Gedeckt 16
Open Diapason 8 Quintaten 8 Principal 8
Gemshorn 8 Prestan t 4 Bourdon 8
Doppelflute 8 Flute a Bec 4 Viole de Gambe 8
Principal 4 Doublette 2 Voix Celeste 8
Wald Flute 4 Sesquialter (2 2/3’)II Flute Harmonique 8
Quint 2-2/3 Plein Jeu (1’) III-IV Octave 4
Cornet III-IV Crommorne 8 Flute Harmonique 4
Super Octave 2 Tremblant Nasard 2-2/3
Mixture (2’) III Flute a Bec 2
Bombarde 16 Tierce 1-3/5
Trompet 8 Larigot 1-1/3
Great to Great 4 Fourniture (2’) III
Basson 16
Trompette 8
Hautbois 8
Voix Humaine 8
CHOIR PEDAL Clairon 4
Violin Diapason 8 Soubasse 32 Swell to Swell 16
Stopped Diapason 8 Principal 16 Swell to Swell 4
Dulciana 8 Violone 16 Tremblant
Octave 4 Bourdon 16
Piccollo 2 Sw Gedeckt 16 Sw to Gt 16,8,4
Trumpet 8 Octave Bass 8 Ch to Gt 16,8,4
Choir to Choir 4 Bourdon 8 Pos to Gt 16,8,4
Tremolo Cello 8 Ped to Gt 8
Choral Bass 4
Bass Flute 4 Sw to Pos 8
Fife 2 Ch to Pos 8
Cornet (8’) IV
Mixture (2 2/3’) III Sw to Ped 8,4
Contre Bombarde 32 Gt to Ped 8,4
Bombarde 16 Ch to Ped 8,4
Basson 16 Pos to Ped 8,4
Trompette 8
Clairon 4
Clarine 2
Electropneumatic action
Four 61-note manuals and 32 pedal
Oak Console built by Grant Smalley
Peterson digital multiplex switching system (1994)
Adjustable bench
Organ originally from Grace Church, Winnipeg
* * *
