Cassie History

Victoria Conservatory of Music

Casavant Opus 400

Some rambling history by

Grant Smalley

The large Romantic instrument in the Victoria Conservatory of Music is a unique treasure.  Installed in 1910 in the Methodist

church, it was dedicated on July 20th one hundred years ago!  I was introduced to the instrument in 1966 when assisting local organ builder Hugo Spilker with tuning and maintenance.

As with many older pipe organs, the years have taken their toll and some changes were undertaken by previous organ technicians.  The original console was dark oak with  terraced stop jambs of mahogany, four manuals and pedal in the French style.  It had rudimentary piston action, 61 note manuals and a 30 note pedal.  The electro-pneumatic ventil chests and wind system remain (unchanged to this day).   In 1966 a new console was ordered from Casavant, still with air operated piston action and mechanical swell shutter linkage to all three divisions under expression (only the Great and Pedal are unenclosed).  The keys were still covered in thick ivory but the draw knobs were of plastic.  The Choir and Solo shutters were linked together and the momentum of the louvres gave the ankle quite a workout. 

Chimes were available at sub, unison and super pitches and were donated by the Ladies’ Guild of Metropolitan Church. All the pipes are original and the 32’ Double Open has the largest pipes in Victoria down to GGGG- about 26’ tall by 1½’ square. The sheer size of these pipes presented an opportunity too good to pass up and the access ladder was mounted on one of them.  Further access to the Great, Swell and Solo was a vertical ladder on the side of the Choir/Solo box.  With all this ladder system there were no railings, no ropes or safety net and, if you forgot a tool, well….!

The  “lungs” as we call the wind system is based on a large two pressure 5HP blower with the original motor still powering the fans with a stately 1200 RPM.  In the bottom of the organ chamber there are two reservoirs about 11’ by 5’- single rise (only one set of ribs) with, at a guess, 200+ clay bricks and large wing springs to yield the correct wind pressure on each.  Very large wooden wind lines connect the main chests to the reservoirs.  The large scale pipes are “wind hungry” and the Open Woods in particular need a “gale” to function.  Only two reservoirs were visible but, after conversations with Casavant, they looked at the original drawings and informed us that there were two more units- one inside each of the large reservoirs- quite a space saver!

It seems quite remarkable that, after 100 years, the builder has the drawings and specifications of this organ as well as testimonial letters praising the instrument from Vierne and Duruflé.  This was the company ’s largest instrument West of Toronto and the early Victorians must have felt the purchase of such an instrument was a large undertaking.  There are over 3100 wood and metal pipes, 53 stops and a plethora of couplers.

All of the  “ramble” so far is history.  What we are dealing with today is the very large challenge to allow the organ to speak again within a short time frame, a minute budget and a large dose of reality.  The organ was able to be played for it’s 100th anniversary celebration which fell during the Conference of the Royal Canadian College of Organists in July, 2010.

A dedicated crew has been assembled- employees, former employees, valuable volunteers- all of whom really care about hearing this instrument play again.  We’ve found all the pipes in reasonable condition, wind chests and connections intact but--- where are the windlines and output connections to the blower?  “Well” said the present owners, “the basement had a clean up and the metal windlines were lost”- probably in a dumpster.  These windlines are over 25’ long; one 10” diameter, the other 14”- big stuff!  We manufactured new outlets (oval, yet!) for the blower and became very good customers of Sinclair Supply in purchasing copious amounts of pipe and fittings. 

We have hit few problems so far and have found ways to overcome them.  The Console must be moveable which dictates digital controls and self contained power supply- all on wheels!  The 1966 console would not do and the budget did not allow manufacture of a new console.  Fortunately, the family of Stuart Kolbinson agreed to accept a very reasonable offer for their dad’s four manual draw knob console.  This had been built by Grant Smalley Pipe Organs to control Casavant Opus 301, circa 1905, an instrument similar in size to the Conservatory Organ.  Now, all we had to do was change the controls and nomenclature totally and put wheels under this large unit to allow it to be positioned on stage.  Electric swell shade operators and a piston sequencer have been added to assist the player. 

Earlier we mentioned access and the  “piratical” method to gain the heights.  After much brain storming we built a system of stairs and ladders which are hinged to allow transport of large parts.  These ladders have railings and with the help of the dozen or so added fluorescent light fixtures we can now see what we are working on. 

When the organ was originally installed it had a rudimentary system of plug in controls (now sadly removed) to operate the pipes from inside the chamber, allowing the tuner to do his or her work without an assistant.  As serendipity would have it, Stuart Kolbinson also had a hand held portable unit (now a part of the new controls) to help tune his Casavant alone- no one wanted to sit on the bench for hours listening to the blast of reed pipes or the wail of mixtures.  So- the old becomes new and the technology of our age has solved the problem of consoles with fixed links or large umbilical cords snaking into the pipe chamber.

This instrument has amazed us with its tonal variety and the span of musical styles it can render very convincingly.  Somehow, the lush romantic sounds of the early 1900’s, so out of fashion in the 1960’s and 70’s, are gaining in popularity.  The Casavant firm really did know how to build a solid, well made organ which is still relevant today.