Cummington, Massachusetts
Village Congregational Church
POMPLITZ & CO., No. 214, ca. 1875
Emmons Howard, 1903 - Relocation, Alteration, and Installation
Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., 1979-80 - Restoration
GREAT COUPLERS (Drawknob)
8' Open Diapason 61 Swell to Pedal
8' Melodia 61 Great to Pedal
8' Dulciana 61
4' Fugara 61 Swell to Great
4' Rohrflute 61
2-2/3' Twelfth 61
2' Fifteenth 61 FOOT TRUNDLES
Great Forte -
SWELL (Expressive) Great Piano -
8' Geigen Principal 61
8' Stopped Diapason (tc) 49
8' Stopped Bass 12 PEDAL MOVEMENTS
8' Aeoline (tc) 49 Swell Expression (bal.)
8' Dolce (tc) 49
4' Harmonic Flute 61
2' Flageolet 61
8' Oboe 61
Tremolo [general]
ACTION: Mech. Key & Stop
PEDAL VOICES: 16 STOPS: 17
16' Bourdon 27
8' Cello 27 RANKS: 16 PIPES: 884
NOTES
The organ is free-standing and encased in the front, left corner of the sanctuary.
The 3-sectional front façade contains 17 gold-painted pipes arranged: 3-11-3. The
right-side façade contains 5 pipes. There had originally been a left-side casework
with a matching 5-pipe facade, but this was removed when the organ was installed
in Cummington. The keydesk is attached and projecting with a lid that lifts to form
a music rack. The stops are as drawknobs in terraced jambs on either side of the
manuals. The casework is of black walnut.
The Pomplitz was previously located at Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church in
Staunton, Virginia in 1881 – and notes in preserved vestry minutes seem to indicate
that it may not have been new at the time it was installed. They contracted with
Emmons Howard for a new organ in 1902, and a $1,000.00 credit was allowed by Howard
for trade-in value (a previous $900.00 offer was refused by the vestry). The Pomplitz
was installed in Cummington by Howard in the spring of 1903 with casework alterations.
The organ was a gift of Worcester Reed and Cornelia Blakemore Warner of Cleveland,
Ohio. The church was required by Emmons Howard to prepare the space for the organ
which necessitated the removal of both side galleries and two stoves for heating.
A ¾ h.p. Spencer blower was added ca. 1930 by Joseph W. Smith of Boylston, Massachusetts.
In 1951, the church interior was redecorated which included removing walnut 'frills' and
finials from the casework of the organ. The original oil lamps were also displaced. The
case and façade pipes were painted and continued to collect new coats over the years.
Chimes playable from their own keyboard were added in 1968.
The 1979 work by Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc. was restorative with all pipework
being cleaned, refinished, and set back on proper speech without revoicing. The double-
rise reservoir was restored but the feeders were removed. Several capped metal bass
pipes on the Great 8' Dulciana were replaced with suitable full-length open pipes to
reduce the Quintadena-like tone. All previously stopped metal basses received new caps
(not stoppers). The oboe was rebuilt by lengthening it slightly, and adjusting the
voicing to maintain the original timbre. The wind pressure was reduced from 3” to 2-7/8”
in order to facilitate lowering the pitch of the organ to A=440 without re-scaling the
pipework. The chimes added in 1968 were detached from the Pomplitz case and provided
with their own matching pine and walnut pedestal which sits adjacent to the organ case.
The organ was re-dedicated on Sunday, June 17, 1979 as a part of the Bicentennial Cele-
bration of the Town of Cummington. The Swell 8' Oboe was not yet available and the tonal
regulation and finishing had not yet been accomplished. The organ was fully completed
early in 1980. The inaugural recital was given by Thomas Murray on Sunday, May 17, 1981.
Sources: A brochure prepared by Messs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc. in April & May of
1981 as a gift to the church.
Village Congregational Church
32 Main St.
Cummington, MA. 01026