Inside the modest sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in London, OH resides the three manual, 28 rank Johnson & Son - Muller pipe organ, an instrument of great pride to its congregation. The core of the instrument remains true to its 19th century roots, however additions and changes have brought it up to 21st century standards. These pages will illustrate the old and the new of this historic instrument.  

Church and Pipe Organ History

The London United Methodist Church has been an active congregation in some form or another since 1813, shortly after the establishment of the town of London in 1811. The church community worshiped in several locations before opening the current church building in 1894. The Johnson & Son pipe organ was installed when the church was opened.

The Johnson & Son pipe organ has been through several rebuilds in its lifetime. Little to any work was done to the instrument from the time it was installed until its first rebuild in 1959 by area organ builder Henry Durthaler. During the rebuild, new chests and reservoirs were installed, as well as a new two-manual console.

In 1988, The Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, OH was picked to perform additional work on the instrument, including the replacement of the console installed in 1959. Schantz also added a Mixture, a Viole Celeste rank, and chimes to the instrument.

In 2010, the instrument was in need of work again, which was performed by Muller Pipe Organ Company of Croton, OH who continues to maintain the instrument today. Muller replaced the 1988 Schantz console, added or extended a few ranks, which among the additions included an Antiphonal division in the rear of the church, rewired the entire instrument, and many other items. In spite of the many changes, the original 17 rank instrument is still intact, though a few ranks have been moved or revoiced.



Sound Clips

Here are a few clips (MP3 files) of the organ for your listening pleasure. Though the church sanctuary is not very large, there is still some resonance in the space. These clips were recorded in the front of the room near the altar. 

Title	Floor
These clips, the first is a "Sortie" Op. 62 by Marcel Dupre and the other a small fragment of Dietrich Buxtehude's "Prelude, Fugue and Ciacona", give a nice illustration of the sound of this instrument, proving that a modest number of ranks can still create a full spectrum of sounds.
Crescendo - In this clip, only the 8' First Open Diapason stop is selected and notes C, E and G (C chord) are played. The bottom C is played on the pedal but not heard as nothing is drawn from the Pedal Division. As the crescendo pedal is depressed, additional ranks are gradually added by the organ, culminating in full organ. On this instrument, the Crescendo does not pull ranks from the Antiphonal division in the rear of the church.

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