The $2.5 million restoration of the pipe organ at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill, overseen for more than two years by Stephen Russell and Company Organ Builders, may just deliver an instrument that, in its new incarnation, will be the envy of every congregation in the area.

“We signed the contract before the COVID-19 shutdown through our organ consultant, John Schwandt,” parish music director Andrew Kotylo explained. “He’s from Indiana University and I’ve known him for eons. Stephen (Russell) was the first to respond to our request for committing to do the work of renovation and restoration to an historic pipe organ of major significance.”

The return of the organ at St. Paul’s Church will be celebrated with a recital performed by soloist Cherry Rhodes Friday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Kotylo said that she would be arriving in Chestnut Hill a full seven days in advance of the recital’s date to acquaint herself with the instrument’s unique personality.

The pipe organ at St. Paul’s Church has an illustrious lineage that connects it with some of the finest organ-builders in the world. It began its life in 1929 as an E.M. Skinner instrument before that firm eventually merged with the Aeolian company to become Aeolian-Skinner. Some of its pipes are from the original instrument.

For a cover feature in The American Organist magazine, Stephen Russell explained, “Under the guidance of former music director Zach Hemenway, the church had been studying a course of action for the much-enlarged Aeolian-Skinner (Opus 724 A-B) for many years. Thanks to the generous gift of a donor in 2019, the parish was in a position to proceed with a comprehensive renovation.” He pointed out that, while the organ had been well maintained by pipe organ expert Steve Emery, the passage of time had comprised the function of its workings.

St. Paul’s instrument is, at its core, famed pipe organ builder G. Donald Harrison’s final instrument to be completed under his supervision. In subsequent years, the church’s former music director, Richard Alexander, oversaw considerable expansion to include ranks that would enhance its ability to service the traditional Anglican liturgy that is celebrated at St. Paul’s Church.

Over the years of its life, St. Paul’s organ has become something of a celebrity instrument among church musicians in general, and organists in particular.

“I had known of the organ at St. Paul’s, Chestnut Hill, long before I became director of music at the church in 2019,” Andrew Kotylo has written, “initially from a photo of its unique, functional pipe display among the church’s intricate wood carvings. More recently, I had heard quite a lot about the instrument as it was expanded under the careful direction of incumbent organist Richard Alexander.

“When I finally got to know the organ firsthand,” he continued, “it became clear that preserving its striking visual aesthetic and eclectic tonal palette would be fundamental to the project I was tasked with overseeing.”

Kotylo explained that the organ he inherited was fundamentally different from the instrument it had been in the 1950s. “It was an anomaly even among Harrison’s later designs, with its abundance of high-pitched mixtures and extremely mild, small-scaled fundamental tone. By the time he concluded his distinguished tenure of nearly 40 years (1970-2008), Rick had left it a much more well-rounded instrument through the discerning additions of new and vintage pipe work by Skinner, Austin, Schoenstein and others.” 

Now, thanks to a generous donation that funded the restoration, the organ also will have more “tonal guts” and will be able to make more of the natural acoustics of the space in which it is played, Kotylo said. While the main sanctuary of St. Paul’s Church is unlikely ever to boast the heavy reverberation time of the Anglican cathedrals of England, the newly restored and renovated instrument now enhances its natural resonance. Boasting 128 ranks and 7,300 pipes, it’s one of the region’s musical treasures.

 “Steve Russell and his top-flight team have proven to be the perfect match for this complex project, giving it an unparalleled degree of tender loving care and demonstrating considerable dedication to getting it right. Russell & Company have given St. Paul’s and the Greater Philadelphia community an instrument of unmatched versatility and power, one that is equally thrilling in both its pianissimo and fortissimo, and one that will inspire generations to come in the worship of Almighty God.”

 You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.