The organ in Fort Massey was built in 1913 by
Casavant Frères of Ste Hyacinthe, Quebec, a world-famous organ
building company. It was voiced by Claver Casavant (one of
two brothers who founded the world famous firm) in the
"Romantic-Symphonic" style favoured at the time, and kept these
characteristics when a new console with electric action was
installed in 1951. It retains the original layout, pipes and
windchests, and unlike many other instruments of its type it was
not later modified to comply with a prevailing fashion for
baroque sounds. Significant restoration was recently completed
{in 2014} by Jean-François Mailhot, a builder sympathetic to the
original style.
The organ contains about 2000 pipes, distributed over 3
keyboards (or manuals) plus a pedalboard of 32 notes. The
pipes range in length from over 16ft to 3/4 inch (5m to
20mm). Pipes for two of the four divisions are in “swell”
boxes with shutters to control the volume, but those of the
Pedal and “Great” divisions are in the open and produce bolder
sound.
The sounds
are controlled by 32 stops, each of which provides a different
tone colour or pitch range. Most manual stops control 68 pipes
each covering 51⁄2 octaves of pitch. The keyboards and pedals
may be coupled so that one can be played from another, and all
stops may be combined together if required.
The façade contains sounding pipes in the towers and
lower central flat, as well as "dummy" pipes at the sides and
top, to screen the internal components.
The tone of the instrument is "foundational,"
emphasizing gravity and lower pitches. It contains nearly all
the colours required for organ music of the late 19th and early
20th centuries, although it will cope effectively with music of
other periods up to the present.
Pedal Organ: Open Diapason 16’, Bourdon
16’, Gedeckt 16’, Octave 8’, Bass Flute 8’, Trombone 16’*,
Chimes.! ! Couplers: Swell to Great, Choir to Great and Swell to
Choir, all at Unison, Sub- and Super- Octave; Swell to Pedal,
Great to Pedal, Choir to Pedal, all at Unison and Super-Octave.
* Denotes reed stops.
Harry Dean (1879-1955) was born in Yorkshire
and studied music in England, and at the Leipzig Conservatory
in Germany before coming to Canada. He was the choir
director and organist at Fort Massey for almost 50 years, from
1906 to 1953, and he oversaw the installation of the new
organ. He worked as professor at Dalhousie University,
held many conducting positions, and founded the Maritime
Academy of Music, which later merged with the Halifax
Conservatory of Music to form the Maritime Conservatory of
Performing Arts.
The visible pipes and chancel arch of the Fort Massey Casavant
Frères Pipe Organ
The organ console with stops, couplers, and pedals
The organ in Fort Massey was built in 1913 by
Casavant Frères of Ste Hyacinthe, Quebec, a world-famous organ
building company. It was voiced by Claver Casavant (one of
two brothers who founded the world famous firm) in the
"Romantic-Symphonic" style favoured at the time, and kept these
characteristics when a new console with electric action was
installed in 1951. It retains the original layout, pipes and
windchests, and unlike many other instruments of its type it was
not later modified to comply with a prevailing fashion for
baroque sounds. Significant restoration was recently completed
{in 2014} by Jean-François Mailhot, a builder sympathetic to the
original style.
Harry Dean (1879-1955) was born in Yorkshire
and studied music in England, and at the Leipzig Conservatory
in Germany before coming to Canada. He was the choir
director and organist at Fort Massey for almost 50 years, from
1906 to 1953, and he oversaw the installation of the new
organ. He worked as professor at Dalhousie University,
held many conducting positions, and founded the Maritime
Academy of Music, which later merged with the Halifax
Conservatory of Music to form the Maritime Conservatory of
Performing Arts.
