West Parish Congregational Church

Andover, Massachusetts (1992)

The basic chassis of this essentially new organ was built as Op. 704 (1888) by Johnson and Son. The case, pipes and wind system were missing. The unusual faux-walnut grained case was discovered in the attic of the Unitarian Church, Hudson, Massachusetts. Much of the metal pipework came from an 1858 organ originally built for the Unitarian Church in Malden, Massachusetts. The chassis and 1858 pipework were relocated through the Organ Clearing House.

B.Rule & Company mated the circa 1865 case with the Johnson chassis, and provided considerable new pipework. Extra care was taken to ensure that the old and the new would harmonize into a cohesive, rather romantic tonal scheme.

The faux-grained case required that several coats of opaque, dirty colored varnish be removed while at the same time retaining the skillfully executed graining. This was accomplished by sanding the old finish off using very fine sandpaper with a lubricant, being careful to sand almost to the graining without actually abrading any of it off.

The remaining finish was re-amalgamated using a technique similar to French Polishing. Several coats of a stable varnish were then applied. This resulted in a rich, faux mahogany graining with great depth.

Tonal design was conceived by Rob Scholten and Brad Rule; Clark Rice assisted with tonal finishing. The dedication was played by Joyce Painter Rice on June 14, 1992.