What Goes Up Must Come Down…And Go Up Again.
It's a basic law of gravity that what goes up must come down. In the case of a pipe organ, however, it must also go back up again.
In early December, we marked the completion of Opus 1 by hosting an open house at the shop in Collegeville. This coming Sunday, Archbishop Shawn McKnight will bless Opus 1 during Sunday vespers at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Leawood, Kansas. Much has happened between these two events, and we'd like to offer a glimpse into how we disassembled, transported, reassembled, and voiced Opus 1 over the past five months.
Taking It Apart
The open house was a wonderful celebration, but the very next day, the work of disassembly began. What had taken over a year to build up was carefully taken down in just a few days. The case was separated into manageable sections, pipes were packed into trays, and each component was labeled and stored to ensure a smooth reassembly. With thousands of individual parts, it was quite the logistical undertaking. Tools and equipment for installation were then packed alongside everything else in preparation for the next phase.
Loading the Truck
Shortly after the new year, a semi-truck specially outfitted for organ transport arrived in Collegeville. We were fortunate to have a relatively mild winter day (around 20 degrees with no snow) for loading. With nearly 30 organ installations behind them, Markus and Martin approached the task with practiced confidence. Their instinct was that everything would fit in a single truck, although those new to the process did not share that certainty :-)
Aside from the pipes, which were secured in trays, every component was hand-wrapped in blankets and loaded piece by piece. The process demanded not only physical strength and stamina, but remarkable spatial awareness; anticipating how each piece could be safely supported and efficiently arranged for transport. (There may be a reason a Tetris arcade game sits in our break room!) After 14 hours of steady work, the truck was fully loaded, with only inches to spare.
Arrival and Installation
The following day, the truck arrived safely in Leawood. Our installation team of Markus Morscher, Christian Metzler, Rain Daily, and David Schedler was joined by a dedicated group of parishioners from St. Michael's. Together, they unloaded thousands of components and distributed them throughout the church. Some pieces went directly to the organ loft while others temporarily occupied pews and aisles.
The first priority on site was preparing the space and leveling the frame on which the case rests. The pedal division case was erected against the back wall, followed by the main case in front of it. From there, the bellows and windchests were installed, the console was brought up, and work on the key action began. Within three weeks, the basic installation was complete, and most of the installation team returned to Collegeville. It was now time for the voicing team to take their turn.
Voicing
Before voicing could begin, Martin Pasi, Christian Metzler, and Lena Rafler carefully regulated the wind system and key action. Because Opus 1 was too large to be fully assembled in our shop, this was the first time the instrument had ever stood together in its complete form. When this essential groundwork was finished, the flue pipes were ready to be installed and voicing could begin.
Voicing is one of the more delicate and consequential stages in the life of an organ. It is here that the instrument ceases to be a collection of parts and begins to speak as a unified whole. The work involves many technical elements such as adjusting speech, shaping tone, balancing divisions, and responding to the acoustics of the room. Ultimately, however, voicing is an art of listening. The goal is not to force a sound, but to reveal it within the space.
This work proceeds pipe by pipe (over 3,200 in this instrument) and requires both experience and a finely trained ear. There is no purely mechanical formula to follow. Each adjustment responds to what the pipe and the room together demand. And even after every pipe has been voiced, the process continues, as the whole instrument is refined. Finally, the whole organ is given a thorough tuning.
Blessing of the Instrument
As of this morning, the final reed stop is being voiced. In the coming days, the entire organ will be reviewed and adjusted in preparation for Sunday's blessing.
After nearly two decades of dreaming, planning, designing, building, installing, and voicing, Opus 1 is now a reality. We are deeply grateful for the trust and patience of the community at St. Michael the Archangel, and we hope this instrument will serve them well for generations by supporting and enriching their worship.
We warmly invite you to join us for the blessing this Sunday at 3 PM, and for the inaugural recital by Olivier Latry on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 PM. More information can be found at St. Michael’s website.
