Restored Organ Church of the Epiphany, Agoura Hills, CA
Restored Console at Beaumont Church
The 4 R’s of Restoration
One word may mean different things to different people–“restoration” is one such word. Often, we are approached by clients who express their need to restore an organ. As we continue our conversation and begin to ask questions, we find that organists, committees, and other interested parties often use the word “restore” to mean completely different things.
At Patrick J. Murphy & Associates, we look at restoration from both a practical and an historical perspective and talk about it as a series of conditions and choices along a continuum, from the least extensive through the most extensive. To us, restoration is the general category into which all of the following fall along this continuum:
Restoration
Restoration
If the instrument is largely intact, both tonally and mechanically, but has experienced considerable wear through its age and usage, your instrument may be a candidate for restoration.
To determine if restoration is the best option, ask yourself and your committee if the organ presently serves the needs of your congregation, choir, and its use in liturgical worship. Also decide if you want to retain the mechanical and musical integrity of the instrument. And finally, ask if your primary goal is to restore the instrument back to its original manufacturer’s condition. If you answered yes to these, restoration may be your best choice.
Don’t be concerned if you also decide that you want to pursue some minor tonal or mechanical modifications, this is fine. Mechanical and pipework modifications are often made while restoring tracker action organs and repairing or replacing the electrical control systems for electric action organs is often recommended.
For more information, see Patrick’s article on restoration.
Next in series: Renovation