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A reflection by Olivier Latry, organist titulare of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, France, dedicated Opus 112 on 18 April 1999:

St. James’s has been blessed with an organ that is among the premiere instruments in the world. The C. B. Fisk Opus 112 was crafted for the many roles a modern American church organ must play: leading congregational song, accompanying choral music, and playing more than four hundred years of organ repertoire.

In the wake of a devastating fire following a lightning strike in 1994, St. James’s embarked upon a careful reconstruction of their 1839 building. It was indeed a privilege to work in a room with the distinguished beauty of the restored St. James’s.  We were fortunate to be included in early design discussions with architects Fred Cox and Sarah Grier and with acoustician David Klepper. The extra height of the new barrel-vaulted ceiling and the creation of additional space in the tower made room for the largest pipes, while leaving ample space for choir in the balcony.

The three-manual, sixty-one stop, twenty-ton instrument is housed in an elegant painted Greek Revival case designed by Charles Nazarian. Situated in the rear gallery of the church, it stands twenty-eight feet high, twenty-five feet wide, and contains 3,677 pipes. The mahogany console, en amphithéâtre, is based on the best examples of 19th-century French builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll and places the complete resources of the instrument easily within arm’s reach. The electric stop action includes solid-state combination action with 128 levels of memory.

The specification reflects the many roles a modern American church organ must play: leading congregational song, accompanying choral music, and playing over four hundred years of organ repertoire. The tonal design evolved in consultation with Dr. Robert Anderson, and the resulting eclectic stoplist is a unique, historically informed blending of stops representing many of the great eras and schools of organ building in Germany, France, England, and America. If there is a strong nod in the direction of Cavaillé-Coll, it is because in his work one finds the diversity, integrity, and expressiveness of tone most becoming to the liturgy of the Episcopal Church. Both the Swell and Positive divisions are under expression, and their pipes are arranged from back to front in the 19thcentury French style.

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C. B. Fisk, Inc., 1999, Op. 112, 3m/62r

Great, Man I
Prestant 16ʹ
Octave 8ʹ
Violoncelle 8ʹ
Spillpfeife 8ʹ
Flûte harmonique 8ʹ
Octave 4ʹ
Flute 4ʹ
Quinte 2 2/3ʹ
Doublette 2ʹ
Tierce 1 3/5ʹ
Mixture IV‐VI
Cornet V
Bombarde 16ʹ
Trompette 8ʹ
Trommeten 8ʹ
Clairon 4ʹ

Positive, Man II, enclosed
Violone 16ʹ
Principal 8ʹ
Salicional 8ʹ
Unda maris 8ʹ
Bourdon 8ʹ
Octave 4ʹ
Rohrflöte 4ʹ
Nasard 2 2/3ʹ
Doublette 2ʹ
Quarte de Nasard 2ʹ     prep
Tierce 1 3/5ʹ
Mixture IV
Cor Anglais 16ʹ
Basson 8ʹ
Cromorne 8ʹ
Clochettes

Swell, Man III, enclosed
Bourdon 16ʹ
Viole de gambe 8ʹ
Voix céleste 8ʹ
Flûte traversière 8ʹ
Cor de Nuit 8ʹ     prep
Prestant 4ʹ
Flûte octaviante 4ʹ
Octavin 2ʹ
Plein jeu IV
Basson 16ʹ
Trompette 8ʹ
Hautbois 8ʹ
Voix humaine 8ʹ
Clairon 4ʹ

Pedal
Bourdon 32ʹ      ext
Contrebasse 16ʹ
Prestant 16ʹ      Great
Violone 16ʹ      Positive
Bourdon 16ʹ       Swell
Quinte 10 2/3ʹ
Octave 8ʹ
Violoncelle 8ʹ       Great
Spillpfeife 8ʹ       Great
Superoctave 4ʹ
Mixture IV      prep
Contre Bombarde 32ʹ
Bombarde 16ʹ       Great
Posaune 16ʹ
Trommeten 8ʹ       Great
Trompette 8ʹ       Great
Clairon 4ʹ       Great

Couplers:

Positive to Great
Swell to Great
Swell to Positive
Octaves graves
Great to Pedal
Positive to Pedal
Positive to Pedal 4ʹ
Swell to Pedal

Accessories:

Great Ventil
Flexible Wind
2 Tremulants (fast & slow)
Balanced Swell Pedal
Balanced Positive Pedal
Crescendo Pedal

Mechanical Key Action
Electric Stop Action
Combination Action
Kowalyshyn Servo‐pneumatic Lever
Manual key compass, 61 notes, CC‐c4
Pedal key compass, 32 notes, CC‐g1

A single painted case in Greek Revival style, key desk en amphithéâtre built into the front of the lower case.
Front Pipes of polished tin.

Past Organs

Rieger-Orgelbau GmbH, 1973, 3m/80r

Information from the dedication program, March 3, 1974:
“The organ and choir were moved to the rear gallery for this installation, which was in a free-standing case. Contract signed January 2, 1973. Original cost $130,260. Final cost $140,000 due to two devaluations in dollar.”

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Hauptwerk II. C – g3
Octav 4′
Sesquialter II-IV 2 2/3′
Superoctav 2′
Quarte II 1 1/3′
Mixtur VI 1/3′
Gemshorn 16′
Holzflöte 8′
Nachthorn 4′
Trompete 8′
Trompete 4′
Tremulant

Rückpositiv I. C – g3
Salicional 8′
Principal 4′
Gemshorn 2′
Scharff IV 1′
Rohrflöte 8′
Koppelflöte 4′
Nasat 2 2/3′
Terz 1 3/5′
Quintlein 1 3/5′
Bärpfeife 16′
Krummhorn 8′
Tremulant
Zimbelstern

Rückpositiv I. C – g3
Salicional 8′
Principal 4′
Gemshorn 2′
Scharff IV 1′
Rohrflöte 8′
Koppelflöte 4′
Nasat 2 2/3′
Terz 1 3/5′
Quintlein 1 3/5′
Bärpfeife 16′
Krummhorn 8′
Tremulant
Zimbelstern

Rückpositiv I. C – g3
Salicional 8′
Principal 4′
Gemshorn 2′
Scharff IV 1′
Rohrflöte 8′
Koppelflöte 4′
Nasat 2 2/3′
Terz 1 3/5′
Quintlein 1 3/5′
Bärpfeife 16′
Krummhorn 8′
Tremulant
Zimbelstern

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