The organ was electrified by Hook & Hastings as Op. 2514 in 1925. There were
apparently no tonal changes and the new action was pull downs applied to the
original slider chests. So the inner layout and the wind system were still
original. I saw it in this form at St. Alphonsus around 1976, and though the
action was failing and the organ was extremely dirty, it still played. It
made a much different impression there than it does now - the room in NYC
was considerably larger than St. Mary's (which isn't small...)and the organ
was loudened when it was moved to New Haven. I remember it's sounding rather
distant and mild in NYC, though it certainly was not quiet inside the case!
At St. Mary's it is very strong. Though very exciting, full organ can become
tedious if used for too long.

I don't know if anyone knows exactly what the original action was, but I
expect it was Barker lever to the Great, and that the bass of the Swell and
perhaps the Choir had pneumatic assists at the windchest, as most large Hook
organs from this period did. The pedal was probably direct mechanical,
though the open wood 16' may have had pneumatic assist, since it stands on
its own chest at the rear of the organ.

The fully mechanical key action introduced in 1982, though with
direct-electric couplers, was a major departure from the original action
concept. It's amazing that it works as well as it does.

Mark Brombaugh
United Church on the Green
New Haven, CT

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Note:  opinions  expressed on PIPORG-L are those of the  individual con-
tributors and not necessarily  those of the list owners  nor of the Uni-
versity at Albany.  For a brief  summary of list  commands, send mail to
[log in to unmask]  saying  GET LSVCMMDS.TXT  or see  the  web
page at http://www.albany.edu/piporg-l/lsvcmmds.html .
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::