St. Michael Catholic Church
Worthington, OH
3/36 Muller-Schantz
1975/2009

Choir Division

Click on the photo to get a larger image
Choir The Choir division has 10 ranks of pipes, all under expression. In general, the Choir division of the organ  contains softer sounding pipes which are used to accompany rather than to lead. Not a surprise, the Choir division blends well with a choir!

The pipes for the Choir division reside inside the black box as shown in the photo to the left. The vertical shutters open and close to vary the volume of the sound.
Choir This gives a general overview of how things sit in the left chamber (right side of the church looking toward the front). On the right is the Choir box, on the left are pipes from the Pedal division, as well as the Zimbelstern. In front are the dummy pipes which cover the front of the chamber, and behind the photographer are the bigger pipes of the Pedal division. 
Swell
The smallest ranks of pipes in the Choir division sit in the front. From right to left, ranks are the tiny 1 1/3' Quint, 1 3/5' Tierce, 2' Principal (second board to the left), 8' Bourdon (capped pipes) and the 8' Erzahler.
Choir Behind the 8' Erzahler on the left is the oddly shaped 4' Spire Flute with its pointy top. To the right of it is the
2 2/3' Nazard rank, followed by the 8' Erzahler Celeste. The Erzahler and Erzahler Celeste are tuned slightly off from each other creating a unique, soft violin type sound.
Choir All the way in the back on the left we see another oddly shaped rank, the 8' Clarinet, and finally on the right is the 4' Gemshorn. The Clarinet is one of the best imitative sounding ranks on the organ, meaning it sounds almost exactly like the Clarinet itself.
Choir Here's a closer look at the Clarinet pipes, which hardly look like the Clarinet! Note the brass tuning slides, as well as the lettering on the pipes. Judging by the shiny appearance of these pipes, this rank is one of the new additions to the original organ.
The photos below show the tops of most of the taller ranks of pipes in the Choir division. Their sizes and shapes are as varied as their sound. Note also in the right photo the black shutters which open and close. Both this box and the Swell box have shutters on two sides rather than just on one side. This appears to be a work-around solution by the builder in an effort to make sure the pipes are heard. The opening on the front of the box is not wide enough, and the long side faces the choir loft, so having shutters on both sides makes sense. This view is looking towards the front of the church. 
Choir Choir
Choir Here's a closer look at the fuzzy tops of the 8' Bourdon pipes. Normally the Bourdon rank is made of wood but occasionally is metal. The fuzzy tops are the tuning slides of the pipes. Note the pipe pitch stamped on the tuning slide.
Choir
 Back up in front are the pipes of the 1 1/3' Quint rank. Instead of having their pitch stamped on the top of the pipe, the pitch is stamped further down under the wood of the pipe rack.


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