Cedar Rapids church dedicates new 3,000-pipe organ

CEDAR RAPIDS — First Lutheran Church is pulling out all the stops as it dedicates a $1.3 million, 3,000-pipe tracker organ — one of the largest in the Upper Midwest.

In its Parsons Opus 50 organ, there are 47 stops.

But the organ, the product of an 11-year committee’s efforts, is more than a new instrument — it’s a symbol of the church’s move into the future while honoring a time-tested traditions thousands of years old.

If 2019 and 2020 church renovations that have opened up the sanctuary in a contemporary interpretation of a traditional space are the cake, the organ pipes’ ascent from the balcony are the top tier, icing and cherry on top, drawing the eyes to the heavens.

The pipes seen from the sanctuary, 80 percent to 90 percent tin pipes imported from Belgium, are one of the most visible elements controlled by the pedals. But alongside the console, they only represent a quarter of the instrument itself.

The three stories of pipes and parts skillfully engineered behind the wall of silver pipes visible from the outside serve as the veins and lungs of the instrument. There, organists and those servicing the magnificent instrument climb ladders to get to the second and third level, each more compact than the last.

“People have commented with this instrument that they feel it’s uplifting, and they can really feel the organ in their bones, feel the rumble,” said Brett Wolgast, organist of 31 years at First Lutheran and chair of Coe College’s music department. “It can get big and full, but you never feel like it’s banging you in the head.”

“The (old) organ before played down on you,” said Rev. Steve Knudson, senior pastor — a contrast to the uplifting nature of the vibrations produced by the new organ. “It’s a very different experience.”

Asked for a comparison with the church’s previous organ, an electrical one with about one-third fewer pipes and myriad mechanical and structural issues, the organist simply chuckled.

“There is no comparison,” he said. “The divisions were very limited in what they could do. Now, there are endless possibilities in terms of the different kinds of sounds we can get.”

From flutes and strings to clarinets and the dulzian (the predecessor of the bassoon), there’s no shortage of ways for the church to use music.

The new one has about three times the number of working pipes with touch-sensitive mechanical action — a key distinction from the last organ that excites Wolgast.

“You get much more of a sensation that you are enacting the sound that’s being produced,” he said. “So I can feel the action being heavier when I’m playing louder.”

With four divisions, Wolgast said it’s like having four organs in one.

“I really can’t envision or imagine any repertoire or any part of the (church) service that I couldn’t come up with a registration — the different stops I pull — to meet the demands of what would be called for,” he said. “The versatility is really one of the key things this instrument adds.”

In a sense, the mechanics of that instrument are what makes this organ more than just another instrument in another church.

Built in the way organs were originally built but using modern material, carbon fiber rods are routed under the choir risers and connect to the console, each one attached to a key. Organ bellows feed wind to the pipes, a type of winding that’s been used for thousands of years.

Behind the pipes seen in the sanctuary, roller boards transfer key actions across space up to the appropriate pipes, all instantaneously.

Wind chests hold air. When a key is drawn with a particular stop, it activates a particular chest, allowing wind into the chest through a slider mechanism. When the organist plays a key, it opens up to allow wind into the pipe.

“I can actually control the release and the air leaving the pipe,” Wolgast said. “It’s that kind of touch sensitiveness that is a whole lot more fun as an organist.”

That tactile ability, along with the plethora of other functions, helps a skillful organist create a layered musical experience — making the organ an integrated part of worship services rather than just a complementary instrument.

“You feel the sound of the organ sing with you when you sing, rather than just throw a sound at you. It lifts you up,” Knudson said.

And as a keyboard instrument, wind instrument, and one of the few acoustic instruments that can fill a large space by itself, Wolgast said the pipes work similarly to how our vocal cords work while singing.

Knudson said the investment affirms the congregation’s commitment to its mission in downtown Cedar Rapids. While being contemporary might be at odds with a new organ purchase, First Lutheran has embraced a look to the future that doesn’t shun the traditions of the past.

“A good organ can help interpret songs, so I can hear when God is speaking to me today,” said Knudson. “What makes it contemporary is that it’s happening today, and when I’m in it, it feels right.”

Correction (Aug. 27, 2021, 3:30 p.m.): First Lutheran Church’s total investment in renewing its downtown ministry and renovating its sanctuary, including the installation of the new organ, was over $4 million. The cost of the organ was $1.3 million. A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the cost of the organ.

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