St Aloysius' Catholic College
Milsons Point
Orgues Létourneau Ltée, op 22, 1989, 2m., 20 sp. st., mechanical
© PdL 2005
Historical and Technical Documentation by Pastór de Lasala
© OHTA 2005 (last updated October 2005)
The old College Chapel was formerly a free-standing stone structure which was located in what is now a playground. This chapel was built in 1863 and had been used by various denominations: Congregationalists, Wesleyans and Anglicans until the Jesuits acquired the building in 1903 as a parish church and renamed it Star of the Sea. [2] The College chapel, which is prominently located between the two wings facing the harbour and Bradfield Park, is the heart of the school complex. It was completed in 1965 as part of stage two of the total rebuilding of the College. [3] This modern chapel, therefore, was totally designed in the spirit of the Vatican II reforms. Up until 1981, the second chapel had acted as an art room when it demolished to make way for the fifth stage of the College building. The stone was reused to form a wall on the eastern side of the playground.
The first chapel organ was built by James P. Eagles in 1969. It was a four rank extension organ which was sited on the wall to the left of the current organ. The case consisted of a tall, vertical grill in timber backed with a dark cloth. This concealed the lowest octave of the Principal, and the two bottom octaves of the Bourdon/Gedackt. The remaining pipes from 4’ were arranged in ascending formation on top of the case. By the late 1990s this organ had become unreliable and was found to be inadequate for the demands placed upon it. By good fortune, news came of the sale of the choir organ in St Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This was purchased subsequently though the St Aloysius’ College Foundation. In 2002, the Létourneau was dismantled, moved and reassembled in Australia by Pitchford and Garside.
[4]
The Eagles organ was sold privately and removed shortly afterwards. The Létourneau seems to have found a very good home: the extreme height of the case fits neatly under the ceiling with a few centimetres to spare, the acoustic is very live and, most importantly, there is a number of talented boys who learn and practise on this organ which gives every impression that it was made for this chapel. The College Memorial Organ was officially blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy AO on Sunday 1st September 2002 and dedicated to deceased members of the college community.
J.P. Eagles, 1969 (2/19 extension 4 ranks, electric)
[5]
| Great Principal Gedackt Salicet Flute Fifteenth Quint Positive Gedackt Salicional Octave Quint Piccolo Twenty Second Pedal Bourdon Principal Gedackt Octave Flute Quint Fifteenth |
8 8 4 4 2 1-1/3 8 8 4 2-2/3 2 1 16 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 |
A B C B A D B C - gvd bass with B A D B A B A B A B D A |
Couplers
Positive to Great
Great to Pedal
Positive to Pedal
Compass 61/32
Electric Action
Detached console
© PdL 2005
Orgues Létourneau Ltée, op 22, 1989 (2/20 mechanical)
| Hauptwerk Principal Gedackt Oktav Rohrflöte Blockflöte Mixture Trompete Tremolo Pedal Subbass Prinzipal Bordun Choralbass Posaune Schwellwerk (enclosed) Holzgedackt Salizional Prinzipal Koppelflöte Oktav Sesquialtera Zimbel Krummhorn Tremolo |
8 8 4 4 2 IV 8 16 8 8 4 16 8 8 4 4 2 II III 8 |
COUPLERS
Sw. to Hw
Hw. to Pedal
Sw. to Pedal
Mechanical Action to manuals and pedals
Electric stop action
Compass 58/32
Accessories
Setter piston
General cancel piston
Two levels of memory
Five general thumb pistons duplicated by toe studs
Four adjustable thumb pistons each to the Hauptwerk and the Schwellwerk
Three adjustable thumb pistons to the Pedal duplicated by toe studs
Reversible thumb pistons for Hw/Ped, Sw/Ped and Hw/Sw
Reversible toe studs for HW/Ped, SW/Ped and Full Organ
No. of pipes = 1,366
Pitch a1 = 440 Hz
Wind pressures Manuals = 70 mm (2 ¾”), Pedal 80 mm (3 ⅛”)
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© PdL 2005
[Photos of the original Eagles organ supplied by Pastor de Lasala from The Aloysian, 1970 p.12 & p.14]
[1] David Stong S.J., The College by the Harbour: the History of St Aloysius’ College, Milson’s Point, New South Wales, 1997, Hale & Iremonger
[2] A new Star of the Sea church was built in 1970 and stands nearby at 44 Willoughby St Kirribilli.
[3] David Strong. SJ., op. cit. p. 24
[4] This was the last organ job undertaken by the late Stuart Garside who sadly died on site, just as the installation reached its completion.
[5]
Specification supplied by P. de Lasala, Aloysian alumnus 1966 -1975.