Baton Rouge, Louisiana
St. James Episcopal

History of the Pilcher-Skinner organ
[On-line contribution from Dan Talbot, September, 2005]

This organ was incorporated into a Skinner built in the 1930's at St. James.  I 
knew this organ in that it was the first instrument I took lessons on as a high 
school student.  I was also one of the last people to play the Skinner for a Bishops' 
Ordination at St. James before the Schlicker organ replaced it in 1978.

By the time I played the Skinner [which the Pilcher pipes became mostly the Choir 
division] it was in pretty bad shape.  The Skinner had been altered severely by 
Liesel Gibson in the late 1950s.  The original Great division was moved to the 
rear of the church and turned into an Antiphonal.  In that it was originally 
installed in front chambers with THICK walls, it was a horribly LOUD and 
obnoxious sound.  

The relays were installed in the attic and the pigeons loved building nests up there. 
 The Skinner great was replaced with butchered pipes "lifted" from other instruments 
in the Louisiana/Arkansas area.  They were poorly voiced and the sound never got 
out into the building.  The winding was horrible for the Great/Swell division.  
The original Skinner console shell was left, and the keybeds and stop contols were 
replaced with Reisner parts which constantly made the organ totally unreliable. The 
"antiphonal" {old Skinner Great} was the last working division and barely made 
it through the ordination!  

The flutes in the choir I was told were the original Pilcher flutes and the 16' 
Open was supposedly Pilcher as it was in the choir division.  Skinner put the Pilcher 
on their chests and added a beautiful Flute Celeste to the instrument.  The Choir 
division was the most colorful division on the instrument!