For many years, acquisition of a new organ was only a dream of both congregation and council. The dream became a reality on January 30, 1977, with the dedication of the new instrument.
The new organ was specially designed and manufactured by Casavant Frères Limitée of St. Hyacinthe, Québec, whose founder, Joseph Casavant, built the first organ for Bytown’s Cathedral over 150 years ago.
Freestanding at the rear of the church in its elegant case of matching Adirondack oak, the organ speaks along the central axis of the building thus providing strong support for congregational singing. Rising to the height of 22 and a half feet, the profile of the case follows the contour of the arch in which it stands. The base of the organ has been kept as narrow as possible to avoid obstructing sight lines from the parish hall to the front of the church.
The facade pipes, principal and mixture pipes and reed resonators are of polished tin, the keyboards are hand-crafted of ebony, ivory and rosewood, and the stop knobs are turned walnut. There are nineteen ranks and nine hundred and thirty two individual pipes distributed over one pedal and two manual divisions. The pipes of the Hauptwerk and Pedal are located in the large upper portion of the organ case. The pipes of the Brustwerk are in the middle section of the case, just above the organist’s head, and their volume can be controlled by horizontal louvers operated by a foot pedal.