Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Holy Trinity Anglican Church is located in Edmonton’s historic Strathcona neighborhood. Completed in 1913, the brick church houses a parish that dates back to 1893, before Edmonton incorporated the town of Strathcona, and before Alberta was a province. The church is an official Alberta Historic Site and a wonderful example of late Victorian architecture.
The Casavant organ is one of Edmonton’s oldest continuously operating organs. Originally built by Casavant Frères in 1923, Opus 978, the organ is concealed behind a façade of ornamental pipes at the front of the church nave, opposite the altar.
Starting in 2012, the Church embarked on a multi-year project to implement badly needed repairs, expand and enhance the organ stops, do a complete re-fit of the air system (leathers, blowers and wind chests), and replace the original 1923 console. As in most organ renovations, structural deficiencies to the building itself were uncovered and repaired. Cracks were discovered in the sacristy roof, immediately below the bulk of the organ mechanism, leading to major reconstruction of the floor of the organ chamber.
The original manufacturer, Casavant Frères, was contracted to perform the renovations. The work took place in four phases over five years. The organ is now completely playable and a formal induction ceremony is planned for the near future.
Specifications
Summary
31 stops
36 ranks
2189 pipes
Stop List – including actual notes from the renovation specification
| GREAT ORGAN (2nd Manual) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | FEET | # PIPES | ||
| 1 | Open Diapason I | 8 | Revoiced on site; actions unified, including the 12 front pipes | 65 |
| 2 | Open Diapason II | 8 | Revoiced with new languids from Tenor F, cutups lowered; leather removed on upper lips | 65 |
| 3 | Melodia | 8 | 1-12 stoppers releathered | 65 |
| 4 | Dulciana | 8 | Tone improved on site | 65 |
| 5 | Principal | 4 | Revoiced on site; 32 new pipes from Middle C | 65 |
| 6 | Harmonic flute | 4 | Revoiced | 65 |
| 7 | Fifteenth | 2 | Existing pipes reinstalled and revoiced on site, including new toeboard | 61 |
| 8 | Mixture IV | 11/3 | New pipes and toeboard on Trumpet action | 244 |
| 9 | Trumpet Great Unison Off Great 4 Chimes | 8 | From Choir Tablet Tablet Existing bells with new electric action, in Swell Enclosure | |
| . | ||||
| SWELL ORGAN (3rd Manual) | ||||
| 10 | Bourdon | 16 | ||
| 11 | Open Diapason | 8 | Tone improved on site for clarity | |
| 12 | Stopped Diapason | 8 | ||
| 13 | Viola di Gamba | 8 | ||
| 14 | Voix Celeste | 8 | From Tenor C | |
| 15 | Traverse Flute | 4 | ||
| 16 | Piccolo | 2 | ||
| 17 | Plein-Jeu II-III | 2 | Existing Gt mixture revised, with new toeboard on Aeoline action; CC: 15-19; F2: 12-15-19; F4: 8-12-15 | |
| 18 | Bassoon | 16 | New half-length capped pipes and chest, with Tear Drop shallots, extension of Oboe | |
| 19 | Trumpet | 8 | Regulated on site | |
| 20 | Oboe Tremulant Swell 16 Swell Unison Off Swell 4 | 8 | Regulated on site; actions unified
Tablet | |
| . | ||||
| CHOIR ORGAN (1st Manual, new Expressive Division) | ||||
| 21 | Chimney Flute | 8 | 61 | |
| 22 | Salicional | 8 | 61 | |
| 23 | Unda Maris | 8 | 49 | |
| 24 | Spindle Flute | 4 | 61 | |
| 25 | Violina | 4 | 61 | |
| 26 | Nazard | 2-2/3 | 61 | |
| 27 | Flute | 2 | 61 | |
| 28 | Tierce | 13/5 | 61 | |
| 29 | Quintflute | 11/3 | 61 | |
| 30 | Clarinet Tremulant Choir 16 Choir Unison Off Choir 4 | 8 | Tablet Tablet Tablet | 61 |
| 31 | Trombone | 16 | From Pedal and Choir Trumpet | |
| 32 | Trumpet | 8 | From original Great Great, on new unit chest action | 65 |
| 33 | Clarion | 4 | From original Great Great, on new unit chest action | |
| . | ||||
| PEDAL ORGAN | ||||
| 34 | Resultant | 32 | From Bourdon 16: quints from Swell Bourdon | |
| 35 | Open Diapason | 16 | Relocated | 30 |
| 36 | Bourdon | 16 | Stoppers releathered | 30 |
| 37 | Gedeckt | 16 | From Swell | |
| 38 | Open Diapason | 8 | From Great Open | |
| 39 | Stopped Flute | 8 | Extension | 12 |
| 40 | Octave | 4 | From Great Open | |
| 41 | Trombone | 16 | New Full length pipes and chest, extension of Choir Trumpet | 12 |
| 42 | Bassoon | 16 | From Swell | |
| 43 | Trumpet | 8 | From Choir | |
| 44 | Oboe | 4 | From Swell |
| ANALYSIS | |||
| Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Choir to Pedal | STOPS | RANKS | PIPES |
| Great | 8 | 11 | 695 |
| Swell | 10 | 12 | 747 |
| Choir | 11 | 11 | 663 |
| Pedal | 2 | 2 | 84 |
| TOTAL | 31 | 36 | 2189 |
See also:
- The entry for the HTAC organ in the Organ Historical Society database
- Instruments at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Is there an organ in Edmonton you would like to know more about? Let us know by contacting us by email at: rcco@rcco.edmonton.ab.ca.
Figure 1 Exterior of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, with this year’s early snow
Figure 2 Holy Trinity Anglican Church (courtesy HTAC website)
Figure 3 The Clarinet rank in the Choir Division, showing the beautiful maple framework
Figure 4 Trinity Music Director John Brough, in front of the 16′ Wooden pipes of the Pedal Open Diapason rank
Figure 5 Another view of the wooden pipes of the Open Diapason
Figure 6 The Great division, with the Choir shutters visible at the rear
Figure 7 Detail view of the stopped wooden flue pipes
Figure 8 The beautifully restored 1913 organ console
Figure 9 the rear of the console exposed, showing the wiring bus, CPUs and Ethernet connection
Figure 10 the nameplate