Lake Stevens, Washington
Ebenezer Lutheran Church
BALCOM and VAUGHAN PIPE ORGANS, Inc., Opus 834, 1978
Steven Cook, 1992 - “Extensive Rebuild and Enlargement”
GREAT (Expressive *) COUPLERS
16 Bourdon (Sw) –- Swell to Pedal 8
8 Principal (façade) 61 Great to Pedal 8
8 Rohrflute 61 *
8 Erzahler [sic] 61 * Swell to Great 8
8 Celeste (tc) 49 *
4 Octave (façade) 61
4 Nachthorn 61 * FINGER PISTONS
2 Octave 61 General 1 - 10
2 Flute (RF) 24 * Gt. to Ped. (rev)
III-IV Mixture [19-22-26] 232 Set
8 Trumpet 61 Can
Chimes [mc - f2) (18)
TOE STUDS
SWELL (Expressive) Gt. to Ped. (rev)
8 Bourdon 61
8 Spitzgamba 61
8 Celeste (tc) 49 PEDAL MOVEMENTS
4 Principal 61 Swell Expression (bal.)
4 Melodia 61 Enc. Great Expression (bal.)
2-2/3 Nasard 61 Crescendo (bal.)
2 Waldflute (Bour) 24
1-3/5 Tierce 61
II Cymbal [19-22] 122
8 Trumpet (Gt) –-
8 Dulzian 61
8 Vox Humana 61
Tremulant
Swell to Swell 16
Swell to Swell 4
PEDAL
16 Subbass 32
16 Bourdon (Sw) 12 ACTION: E-P unit; elec. slider
8 Principal (façade) 32
8 Bourdon 12 VOICES: 23
4 Octave 12
II Rausch Quint [12-15] 64 STOPS: 34; inc. chimes
16 Trumpet (Gt) 12
8 Trumpet (Gt) –- RANKS: 28
8 Dulzian (Sw) –-
4 Schalmei 32 PIPES: 1,623
NOTES
This instrument was created from the previous Balcom and Vaughan pipe organ built in
1978 as that firm's Opus 834. It had 9 voices, 22 speaking stops, 10 ranks, and 617
pipes. The façade remains from the 1978 instrument, and two of the Kilgen-style, Balcom
and Vaughan electro-pneumatic unit chests were retained. The new chests are homemade,
and of a decidedly inferior quality. The main Swell chest is a slider chest.
Most of the original Balcom and Vaughan pipework appears to have been retained as well.
The Pedal 4' Schalmei is actually an Oboe with crudely-soldered, added caps. This may
have been the original Swell 8' Hautbois. All of the other B & V ranks are present and
accounted for in some manner. The Balcom and Vaughan console was replaced by one
reportedly built by Steven Cook with Peterson stop and combination actions.
On the Great, the new 8' Erzahler [sic] has an old Dulciana for notes 1-12. The 8'
Celeste is actually an old, used, Voix Celeste whose timbre does not match the Erzahler
well. All of the other pipework is new or retained from the former organ. The chimes
are used, and quite old. They operate from a pneumatic action.
On the Swell, the 8' Bourdon is used. It is an older Stopped Diapason which has been
planed to remove the old finish. The same is true of the 4' Melodia. The 8' Vox Humana
is also a used rank of pipes, and does not fit into the tonal scheme very well. The top
7 pipes of the 1-3/5' Tierce break back to 3-1/5' pitch.
The Pedal 16' Subbass was added, and is exposed to the right side of the original façade
near the choir seats.
The enclosed portion of the Great is housed in a 'chamber' created from a part of the
sacristy, and is enclosed with thin, flimsy, 1/4” wood paneling.
The finger pistons are somewhat oddly placed. The ten generals are placed in the Great
and Swell keyslips, but to the extreme left side. This has precluded placing the 'Set'
piston in its traditional at the far left end of the Great keyslip. Instead, it has been
awkwardly placed in the Swell keyslip toward the treble over note c# 50. The 'Cancel'
piston is located in its traditional position at the far right end of the Great keyslip.
The far left and largest portion of the façade contains the first 15 pipes of the Pedal
8' Principal. The four pipes to the right of the longest one are dummies. The central
portion of the façade contains the first 19 pipes of the Great 8' Principal. The far
right portion of the façade contains the first 21 pipes of the Great 4' Octave. The
first six pipes to the left of the longest one are also dummies.
Sources: B&V opus list & files, JRS; extant altered organ
Ebenezer Lutheran Church
2111 117th Ave. NE
P.O. Box 97
Lake Stevens, WA. 98258
(206) 334-0421 Documented: March 29, 1995