By Marley Seaman
On Sunday, Oct. 30, the improved organ was dedicated at an afternoon service and concert. Church music director Ksenia Lowenfels played most of the program, which included J.S. Bach's placid "Ich ruf zudir, Heir Jesu Christ" and Cesar Franck's "Chorale." Erika Podoprigora, Lowenfels's sister, opened the ceremony with an improvisation, and JoEllen Elsener of Elsener Organ Works, which handled the refurbishments, played two selections.
The church's organ renovation committee went to extreme lengths to get the new parts. Members Howard Batsford and Carl Larson drove to Philadelphia during a February snowstorm to track down the wooden, 16-foot-long diapason pipes, which produce the lowest notes and add power to the organ.
"We got them from an old church in West Philadelphia," said Batsford. "On the snowiest day last year, we took a 16-foot flatbed [and] drove them up in a snowstorm." Larson, Batsford and a companion removed the pipes from a second floor loft and returned to Baldwin.
"The diapason pipes are the backbone of the organ," said Elsener. Because of their volume, "they support congregational singing."
The repairs cost about $46,000 and began in February. The decision to get the diapason pipes was made after most of the changes had been made, and employees of Elsener Organ Works finished installing the enormous pipes days before the concert.
In addition to the diapasons, a set of pipes that replicate the sound of an oboe was installed. The organ now has eight ranks, or groups of pipes that produce a specific timbre. It had only four when it was built in 1941.
The organ has also become more technologically advanced. Parts that were once made of leather, which must periodically be replaced, have been replaced by electromagnets.
"Once you push the stop, there's nothing mechanical about it, it's all electronic," said Batsford. "All the pieces and parts and wires and strings have been replaced by electronics."
Elsener adds that the organ is much more versatile as a result of the changes. "You can now have one set of pipes play at three separate pitches at once," she said.
Lowenfels, who has the most firsthand experience with the instrument, marvels at its new strength.
"It's more powerful," she said. "It's great when you play an organ, [and] your body vibrates so you become like one body with the organ."
