St. Paul Catholic Church
Westerville, OH
3/54 Muller
2014

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Photos of the Great Division

Click on the photo to see a larger image

	The Great Division sits on the right side of the main case (left side of the church). Some of the pipes in the facade are also part of the Great. Originally the design of the instrument had this division on the front of the choir loft, however further analysis revealed that it was better to place it in the main case. The division is under expression meaning the pipes are behind shades which open and close to control the volume. While this configuration is not uncommon, most pipe organs have the Great Division exposed and/or not under expression. There are 15 ranks and 927 pipes in the Great Division.
	The 16' Violone rank provides a smooth fundamental pitch. The bottom four pipes sit outside the Great chamber behind the facade. Here we see the CCC and DDD pipes which are "Haskelled", meaning there is a pipe within the pipe to lengthen the distance the air must travel which in turn lowers the pitch. This page gives a brief history and a nice diagram of how this works.
	Just to the left of the walkway is the four rank Fourniture which is a type of Mixture stop providing high pitched brilliance to the organ sound. Each key on the console will play four pipes from the stop.
	This photo shows most of the remaining ranks in the Great. In the foreground with speckled pipes are the Super Octave and Octave, the pipes with the black felt bands are the Rohrflöte, behind this in various angular positions are the Gemshorn and Gemshorn Celeste and finally against the wall is the Principal rank.
	Two of the more peculiar looking ranks are the Rohrflöte on the left and the Koppelflöte on the right. The Rohrflöte is sometimes called a Chimney Flute because of it's appearance of having a chimney coming from the top of it. The Koppelflöte generally produces a neutral tone and blends with the rest of the organ sound.
	Along the back wall of the chamber are the Bass Clarinet and Tromba ranks. The Bass Clarinet pipes are mitered in order to fit in the chamber. This has no effect on the sound of the pipe. The pipe on the far left extending above the Bass Clarinet is the wind supply for the Pontifical Trumpet which sits outside the case.
	The Pontifical Trumpet is the loudest rank in the organ. With its name referencing usage when the Pope enters the church, it is commonly used in pieces requiring bright fanfares such as when the bride enters the church or when a just married couple leaves the church. You know when this rank is playing!

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