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2049 Meetinghouse Way, West Barnstable, MA 02668
Photograph is courtesy of Sarah E. Bach
I first encountered West Parish's lovely meeting-house a number of years ago, when I lived briefly on Cape Cod. Like countless others I found its classic proportions pleasing to the eye, and I applauded the wisdom of its congregation in having it restored and kept in regular use. It was noteworthy, too, that (along with good acoustics) the church had a real organ, although its then-fashionable "open pipe" visual design struck me as somewhat anachronistic in such a setting. This organ was something of a "labor of love" made by a local organ enthusiast, a virtual gift to the congregation. Despite some imperfections it served the congregation of the West Parish almost until the end of the 20th century, when increasing mechanical and tonal problems required the church to begin thinking of either rebuilding or replacing it.
Thus when I was first contacted by Babette Bach early in 2001, I was delighted to be asked to assist in guiding the West Parish's dedicated Organ Study Committee to a decision that would both benefit the music program and enhance the building's restored interior. From our first meeting, Peter Smith and his committee took me at my word when I cautioned that this was a project that would require time and commitment on their part to learn more about organs in order to make carefully considered decisions. The first was to determine whether, as had already been recommended by members of the Organ Advisory Committee of the American Guild of Organists, to abandon the idea of rebuilding the old organ. I too felt that this would be an expensive exercise in futility, and the committee, on weighing the pluses and minuses, came to the same conclusion, which put us on the more challenging road toward a new and custom-designed organ.
Keeping to a regular schedule of meetings and investigations, this hard-working committee kept in regular touch with me regarding their progress, impressing me with their perseverance and insight. Within a year they had visited a number of churches where newer organs could be seen and heard, and, on this basis, had narrowed their search to four quite eminent builders, whom they then invited to visit the church and make preliminary proposals. Another meeting was scheduled to sort out these proposals, and to discuss questions raised by both their similarities and differences. Advised to make another round of investigations – and especially to listen – the committee made one final journey, this time going as far as New York City, and in fairly short order reported back a unanimous decision to sign a contract with the British firm of N. P. Mander.
With many churches, except for perhaps a little tweaking of the stoplist and a few basic preparations, it would have been clear sailing from here to the organ dedication, but the very uniqueness of West Parish's historic building provided us all with a few speed bumps along the road. Although John Mander had, at my suggestion, already simplified his initial rather ornate Georgian design, and had agreed to make the casework of pine finished to match the church's woodwork, the committee began to hear from a few who were concerned that the new organ would present too much of a visual intrusion in a 1717 building. Feeling that this might be a delayed backlash against the obvious intrusiveness of the old organ, I suggested an open meeting in which to make a case for classically-designed organs as inevitable additions to older buildings.
This proved for me an interesting and enlightening experience not previously encountered in 25 years of consulting. Proving my point necessitated an in-depth study of how changes to buildings of this sort evolved. Since the early church records of West Parish were scant, it was necessary to build a case study from the histories of other churches with better preserved records. These revealed that the West Parish meeting-house had not been restored back to 1717 – when it was but a simple and unadorned barn-like building – but to a later stage in which, as in the other churches studied, plain benches had been replaced by box pews, windows glazed, a steeple built, and a proper pulpit installed. Most of this accrued in the more prosperous second half of the 18th century. In many of these churches, the next stage, often occurring around the turn of the century or shortly thereafter, was the addition of an organ.
In this context, Mander's simplified English Georgian case design made sense, and in fact was not dissimilar to the cases of surviving New England organs built in the early 19th century. Unlike the previous organ, plainly mid-20th century in tonal and visual concept, the proposed new organ would not only sound more like an authentic 18th century organ, it would also look more like one. And for West Parish it would represent the logical next stage of the building's evolution – delayed by a mere two centuries!
Further decision-making discussions between the committee, myself, and the builder centered around more minor things, such as the design of the pipe shades and stoplist modifications. The committee ably handled the logistics of gallery modifications and other preparations with no need of outside help. With the impending arrival of the organ in January I could sense the excitement growing in memos from West Barnstable, and after it was set up and playable could not resist a quick trip to see and hear it. What more can I say but that I found it to be everything that I had hoped it would be, and all that we had collectively envisioned, in both sight and sound. Long may it support the congregation's hymn-singing, interpret the great wealth of organ music, and enliven the musical life of the community!
Barbara Owen
Organ Consultant
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