St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, had some interesting challenges as it attempted to upgrade its organ and musical program recently. The final result: a mid-sized three-manual Allen MDS organ that offered the best of all worlds.
The old organ chamber was in the extreme left-hand side, and spoke through a small opening facing across the front of the church. Musical balance between the organist and choir was a difficult task, with minimal sound managing to get down the nave of the church. James Christie, a leading Canadian architect and member of the church congregation, helped design an "organ case" across the front of the church, behind the communion table. With 13 speaker cabinets including an antiphonal division at the back of the church, the end result was just what the congregation desired.
"Each Sunday is a delight to share in worship and hear the great variety of sounds that this organ can produce," says the Reverend Karl English, St. Andrew's minister. "Joyfully we sing to its accompaniment and appreciate its extended features. Its ëpipe organ sound' adds a whole new depth to the music of our church."
St. Andrew's Presbyterian is one of thousands of Canadian churches that have discovered the realistic pipe organ sounds of Allen digital organs.