Opus 7

The Chapel of St. John the Divine
Champaign, Illinois
Completed 1991

29 straight-speaking stops, 36 ranks across two manuals and pedal

The Episcopal Chapel of St. John the Divine in Champaign, Illinois is a limestone structure begun in the 1920's, the completed part of which served as the visual inspiration for the Buzard Opus 7 Organ. The parish voted to build a new pipe organ as the first phase of a long-term Chapel completion effort.

Designed to compliment St. John's Gothic architecture, the mouldings and detailings in the organ's three towers and flats match the details found in the limestone statuary niches and window tracery. The three crowns atop the towers are made from basswood and encrusted in 23-karat gold leaf. Carvings found on the pew frontals have been translated into the console's white oak cabinet; additional carvings of tambourine, flutes and reed pipes adorn the console's lower portion.

The organ's tonal design was inspired by the English Cathedral organbuilding style. The Chapel's solidly Anglican choral program, rich hymnody, and the daily Cathedral-style liturgics demanded an organ of some substance; requiring a wide variety of tone colors at Unison pitch, complete development of the various choruses, and characteristics reed stops for the English Swell, a profound pedal, and high volume solo effects.

Although inspired by the great instruments at King's College and York Minster, this is not an "English Organ." The instrument exhibits a tasteful amount of articulation in the speech of appropriate stops. Having listened to the concerns of the Parish, it was obvious the budget for the organ (and the space available) would not allow for a big open wood or a Swell 8-foot Diapason . Scaling and treatment of the other Pedal stops and the Swell Salicional have to create the intended effect.

Pipes in the organ are made from a variety of woods and metals; 75% English tin was used for facade pipes, metal flutes in the Swell are made of 15% tin with narrow mouths to provide a penetrating quality at the appropriate volume. The Great flutes are made of 50% tin with relatively wide mouths so they may be used in different ways with other voices. Reed pipes, with the exception of the wooden Pedal Trombone, are made entirely from 50% tin. The Tuba 8', which plays on high wind pressure, is horizontally mounted atop the swell box, just behind the flats.

- John-Paul Buzard