Music Ministry

Casavant Organ

The organ in Fort Massey Church was built in 1913 by Casavant Frères of Ste Hyacinthe, Quebec, then fast becoming a world-famous organ building company. It was voiced by Claver Casavant (one of the two founding brothers) 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 tonal restoration was 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. Overall, the organ has a warm, cohesive sound that can range from a whisper to arresting grandeur capable of supporting singing by hundreds.