The Cathedral Organ

The Cathedral organ is an instrument of generous size and genuine majesty representative of the finest period of cathedral organ design in America. It consists of three divisions and pedals plus a gallery division, over 4,000 pipes. It is installed in two chambers high above the entrance from the crossing to the chancel, with four ranks and the state trumpets mounted above the balcony at the west end of the Cathedral. The organ was designed, built and installed by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, builders of the most notable pipe organs in America. In 2000, the console underwent major renovation and received new keyboards, drawknobs, digital combination action and digital control for all the pipework, performed by Marceau and Associates Pipe Organ Builders of Portland, Oregon.

There are some unique features to the Cathedral organ. An instrument of this size (86 stops) would normally be played from a console of four or even five manuals. But this organ is on only three manuals in order to coincide with the tonal design, the gallery division being playable from any of the three. The state trumpets are of the hooded variety and so skillfully voiced that they can be played in ensemble with the full chorus. The vast tonal dimensions of the organ can be fully appreciated only when it is heard regularly as it interprets the whole range of organ literature.

The console is located on the north side of the Great Choir. The Great and Swell divisions are located above the south Choir chamber, the Choir and Pedal divisions above the north Choir and the Gallery under the West Rose Window.

The voicing of the Cathedral Organ is so skillfully done that even the quietest pipes can be heard in every corner of the building while enabling the vast tonal resources of the instrument to be used together with every sound perfectly balanced in ensemble. The unique combination of the Cathedral's authentic Gothic architecture and construction materials combined with the unequaled artistry of the organ's design create an environment for organ music unsurpassed in the western hemisphere.