The Noack Organ
Opus 100, 1985
Our 62-rank mechanical action organ was inspired by the church’s fine architecture and rich choral tradition. It was also Fritz Noack’s first organ in the South.
Located in a raised choir gallery within the front central apse, the organ speaks straight into the nave. The organ cost $450,000 in 1985. The funds were pledged by the congregation in one week’s time. Wesley Monumental’s congregation has always valued great music as a part of worship. It was dedicated in 1985, and Joan Lippincott played the dedication recital.
Fifteen years later, Lippincott returned to present a progressive recital, “The Noacks of Savannah,” which also featured the 45-rank Noack organ in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, just one square north on Abercorn Street. The organ celebrated its 30th birthday in 2015 with a choral and organ concert presented by the Wesley Choir and guest organist Bruce Neswick.
Stoplist
The stoplist is the list of all the sounds on the organ. Each “stop” has its own sound that mimicks different instruments, for example strings, trumpets, and different kinds of woodwinds. The number before the stop name indicates at which pitch it speaks. For example, if a stop is 8’, that means that the lowest pipe of that stop or sound is eight feet long.
Great
16 Double Diapason
8 First Diapason
8 Second Diapason
8 Chimney Flute
4 Octave
4 Harmonic Flute
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
1 3/5 Seventeenth
IV-VI Mixture
8 Trumpet
4 Clarion
Choir
8 Stopt Diapason
8 Viola
4 Violin
4 Chimney Flute
2 Principal
1 1/3 Quinte
III Cornet
8 Cremona
Swell
16 Bourdon
8 Open Diapason
8 Stopt Flute
8 Bell Gamba
8 Celeste
4 Prestant
4 Recorder
2 2/3 Nazard
2 Gemshorn
1 3/5 Tierce
III Mixture
III Sharp
16 Bassoon
8 Cornopean
8 Oboe
Pedal
32 Grand Bourdon
16 Open Bass
16 Bourdon
8 Principal
8 Stopt Bass
4 Octave
VI Mixture
32 Contra Bassoon
16 Trombone
8 Trumpet
4 Trumpet
Couplers
Great to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Great
Swell to Great
Swell to Choir