Martha Mary Chapel
Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI Opus 24, 2000
Henry Ford built the Martha-Mary chapel in Greenfield Village in
1929. The first of six such chapels, it was named after Mr. Ford's
mother and his mother-in-law. The chapels were exact copies (at
1/3 the size) of the First Congregational Church in Bradford, MA.
That building, influenced by designs of Christopher Wren, was
designed in 1848 by Boston architect Richard Bond.
Henry Ford had the Aeolian company of New York install their Opus
744 in 1929. It had three manuals and 20 ranks. The organ was
installed in basement chambers with tone openings facing both
sides of the chancel. An Echo division was in an enclosure in
the rear balcony. The chapel, though non-denominational, was used
for daily exercises by the Greenfield Village school for years.
Henry Ford is said to have spent many a morning observing the
children's services from his pew in the balcony. In recent years
the chapel is used mainly for weddings, of which more than 100
are performed each year.
The basement location proved to be fatal for the organ. The
continual dampness there seems to have taken its toll on the
organ, and it was replaced by an electronic instrument sometime
in the 1980's. Rather than attempt to resurrect the Aeolian,
we recommended that a small tracker organ be designed for the
balcony. This is what you would expect to find in a small New
England chapel, and it would be perfectly adequate for playing
the wedding music required of it.
We removed the Echo division of the Aeolian, whose pipes had been
damaged by the electronic installers, and installed the new organ
in its place. David Graebe, noted British organ case designer, is
responsible for the design of the new case. It is meant to be
reminiscent of mid-19th century cases of the Boston builders,
while the art deco access panels echo the chancel grilles
downstairs
We designed the organ to be as flexible as possible, given its
fairly small size. Its most unique feature is the use of
"either/or" stops, which are available on one manual or the other,
but not both at the same time. All but the 8' Principal, the 8'
Celeste and the Pedal Bourdon are of this type. Everything but
the 8' Principal and the Pedal Bourdon is in the swell box.
The casework is built of yellow poplar which we quarter-sawed and
dried ourselves. The key and stop action are all mechanical. The
drawknobs are angled toward the player. Manual naturals are bone,
sharps are blackwood. Pedal naturals are maple, sharps are plastic.
Tonal finishing of the organ was done by Richard Swanson of Grand
Ledge, Michigan. Fred DeHaven, the consultant, played a dedication
recital upon the organ's completion.
STOPLIST Manual I 8' Principal 58 pipes (a) 8' Gedackt 58 pipes (b) 8' Viole de Gambe 58 pipes (c) 8' Viole Céleste 46 pipes (d) 4' Octave 58 pipes (e) 4' Chimney Flute 58 pipes (f) II Sesquialtera 104 Pipes (f) 2' Gemshorn 58 pipes (g) III Quint/Mixture (1 1/3')174 pipes 1-1/3' (g) 8' Trumpet 58 pipes (h) Manual II 8' Gedackt (Manual I) 8' Viole de Gambe (Manual I) 8' Viole Céleste (Manual I) 4' Octave (Manual I) 4' Chimney Flute (Manual I) II Sesquialtera (2 2/3') (Manual I) 2' Gemshorn (Manual I) III Quint/Mixture (Manual I) 8' Trumpet (Manual I) Tremulant Pedal 16' Bourdon 30 pipes (i) 8' Bourdon 12 pipes (I)(Ext) Notes: a - En façade; basses zinc, rest 70% tin b - Stopped wood (quartersawn oak) c - Basses zinc, rest 50% tin d - Recycled, 50% tin e - Basses zinc, rest 50% tin f - 30% tin g - 50% tin h - Full-length; zinc, 50% tin i - Stopped wood Totals: 11 stops 14 ranks 774 pipes Couplers: II to I, I to Pedal, II to Pedal Console Details: Attached console Key and stop-action mechanical Angled drawknobs on side columns Balanced swell pedal Couplers on hitch-downs key-switch for blower and lights.
