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| Organ Project - Sanctuary Design |
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Location of the Organ
Perhaps the first lesson learned by the committee during its organ-site visits was that an organ should speak to the congregation from the front or the back.
The committee heard a number of excellent organs whose sound was severely compromised by an unfortunate location.
First-rate organbuilders today insist on a front-back axis.
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Our past organ was a case in point for poor location from an acoustics point of view.
The chamber areas in which the pipes were located were deep and obstructed by the visible pipes which
were merely decorative.
In addition, the pipes spoke to each other, rather than to the congregation in the nave. A large percentage of the sound did not reach the congregation. The remainder of the sound
had to turn a 90-degree angle before reaching the listener.
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In view of these considerations, the committee concluded that the proposed new organ should be located either in the balcony or in the center of the chancel.
The committee favors a center-chancel location because of the following disadvantages of a balcony locaton:
- Barrier-free accessibility would require the installation of an elevator to the balcony, adding significantly to the cost of the project.
- Location of an organ and the choir in the balcony (the choir follows the organ) would result in the loss of the balcony for congregational seating.
- Removal of the organ (and choir) from the chancel raises difficult questions regarding the reconfiguration of the chancel space, with the result that considerable expense would be incurred with respect to not one, but two, areas of the sanctuary.
- Placing the organ and choir in back, and out of sight, of the congregation would lessen the "congregational" effect of the present arrangement.
Sanctuary Modifications
To accommodate a new organ in the back of the chancel, a number of changes would be necessary - principally the removal of the existing choir stalls and the altar table. Both of these changes are desirable in themselves and are long overdue.
The way the choir stalls on either side of the sanctuary face each other adversely affects the quality of the music produced by the choir. The stalls narrow the chancel space to an extent that results in a cluttered look and creates space-related problems for the music director and other musicians.
The alter table has no place in our Congregational heritage and is rarely used for church services or other functions.
A new location would also have to be found for the Covenant panel.
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Changes proposed by the committee call for the substitution of an angled, tiered seating arrangement for the choir. This would improve the ability of choir members to hear one another, accommodate additional singers, and provide more space for the introduction of instrumentalists.
The existing high altar would be replaced by a redesigned, movable table that could be used at the front of the nave for communion and other purposes.
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Except for the organ and organ console, all elements of the chancel, including the pulpit, would be movable and storable.
The flexibility inherent in this arrangement would make the chancel eminently suitable for all kinds of church services and events - Sunday services (traditional and contemporary), weddings, funerals, concerts and solo recitals, dramatic productions and lectures.
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