Corpus Christi RC Church - Table of Contents

Organ - Corpus Christi RC Church
Reprinted from a pamphlet published by Corpus
Christi RC Church

The exceptional pipe organ at Corpus Christi Church is one of the only pipe organs in the Buffalo area whose builder is of Polish heritage. The three manual 32 rank pipe organ dates to l928. It was installed in a divided case by the A. Radziewicz Pipe Organ Company of Milburn, New Jersey at a cost of $23,000.

The casework of the instrument is made of chestnut wood The instrument had 2,0l4 pipes when it was installed, ranging in size from a half inch to twenty feet with most of  the facade pipes actually speaking.

A unique feature of the organ was that it had a three manual horseshoe console that was mounted on a rotating "Lazy Susan" type of platform that allowed the organist an easily adjusted view of the choir.

It is said that the instrument was built on site and used a house on Lombard Street as a temporary shop to construct the necessary parts. 
                                                      
In l966, the Po-Chedley & Son Company of Tonawanda was commissioned to completely releather and renovate the pipe organ. The horseshoe console was replaced with a new contemporary console. Also replaced were the reservoirs, relays and switches, swell engines. blower and rectifier. Since the general tone quality of the instrument was admired, only some tonal changes were made.                                    
                                                      
In the l970's, the Tenerowicz Pipe Organ Service added a l6 foot Trombone that came from the former Johnson pipe organ of neighboring St. Ann's Church in Buffalo. A new Principal Chorus from the former St. Paul & St. Mark United Church of Christ in Buffalo was also added.                                            
                                                      
When an organist plays a superior instrument, "voices"or different sounds of the organ are played individually, or in selected combinations. Corpus Christi's organ, with its many fine examples of "voices" from diapaisons or principal stops, to rich mellow flutes and strings which are so lush, and even the brassy sounds of the reeds, create a remarkably rich palette that is available to the artist. The organ's quality, in combination with Corpus Christi's impressive acoustics, make services a truly spirit-filled experience.     

Page by Chuck LaChiusa
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