Seattle, Washington 
Green Lake Seventh-Day Adventist

Organ by Burton K. Tidwell Organbuilder

Casavant Components in the Rebuilt Organ


Casavant Components Pipes of the Gt: Principal 8, Flute harmonique 8, and Pd: Octave 8 form 
the new facades with the remaining pipework in the chambers behind. Larger facade pipes are of 
zinc; pipes from 4\' C up are of frosted tin as are all pipes in the new Great. Wind pressures are 
appropriately low, from 2.5\" to 3\" for the flues;  3.5\" for the new Schopp reeds.  New windchests 
have electric action with thick toeboards, offset magnets and generous expansion channels to 
encourage prompt speech, and a relaxed, singing tone. The reeds are on electro-pneumatic unit chests; 
the Casavant Subbass 16 and its chest were retained along with the entire former Swell division, 
now recast as a Choir division on its pitman chest. Pitch emphasis of the division formerly 
was on a Principal 2\' with Zimbel III 1/3\'; the division now has Principals 8\', 4\', and 2\' with a 
dramatically lower mixture recomposed from existing pipework.          

Where Casavant pipework was retained, it was carefully revoiced to serve the greater musical purpose 
of the organ. Finances, space, and the musical goals dictated the integration of digital voices 
without compromise and seen as useful tools to expand and to enhance the tonal pallet. The Allen 
system was provided to specifications of the builder, including unusually expansive audio with each 
stop receiving as much or more attention in voicing detail note to note as the pipes. The console 
was built by R.A. Colby with manual naturals covered with reclaimed ivory; sharps of rosewood.          

While the original intention was to sell the Casavant intact and to build an all-new instrument, all 
attempts to sell the organ failed; no builder was interested in removing the windchests.  Virtually 
all of the flues of the organ were saved for this or other instruments; the keyboards are now 
in another organ, and all raw materials not reused were recycled where possible, including wood from 
the console. It was not cost effective nor was space available to reuse all of the pitman chests;
 no one wanted them given the work require to adapt for use elsewhere (in spite of efforts to 
give them away), and they were destroyed save the magnets, framework, chest bodies and schwimmers, 
which also have been used elsewhere. Reeds were of the period: very thin, unstable, and with severely 
wilted resonators. Two stops were saved for possible reuse; one being given to another builder; all 
others were salvaged for scrap metal.  

- Burton K. Tidwell

[Received online August 8, 2012]