ST ALOYSIUS’ CATHOLIC COLLEGE, MILSONS POINT



© PdL 2005

 

The current site for St Aloysius’ College is the third in its 126 years existence in Sydney, starting at Woolloomooloo in 1879, the year the Jesuits came to New South Wales, moving to Bourke St in 1883 and then finally to Milsons Point in 1906. [1] St Aloysius is the oldest independent Catholic boys day school in NSW.

 

The old College Chapel was formerly a free-standing stone structure which was located in what is now a playground.   This chapel was built in 1863 and had been used by various denominations: Congregationalists, Wesleyans and Anglicans until the Jesuits acquired the building in 1903 as a parish church and renamed it Star of the Sea. [2] The College chapel, which is prominently located between the two wings facing the harbour and Bradfield Park, is the heart of the school complex.  It was completed in 1965 as part of stage two of the total rebuilding of the College. [3]   This modern chapel, therefore, was totally designed in the spirit of the Vatican II reforms.  Up until 1981, the second chapel had acted as an art room when it demolished to make way for the fifth stage of the College building.  The stone was reused to form a wall on the eastern side of the playground.

 

The first chapel organ was built by James P. Eagles in 1969.  It was a four rank extension organ which was sited on the wall to the left of the current organ.  The case consisted of a tall, vertical grill in timber backed with a dark cloth. This concealed the lowest octave of the Principal, and the two bottom octaves of the Bourdon/Gedackt.   The remaining pipes from 4’ were arranged in ascending formation on top of the case.  By the late 1990s this organ had become unreliable and was found to be inadequate for the demands placed upon it.  By good fortune, news came of the sale of the choir organ in St Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  This was purchased subsequently though the St Aloysius’ College Foundation.  In 2002, the Létourneau was dismantled, moved and reassembled in Australia by Pitchford and Garside. [4]   The Eagles organ was sold privately and removed shortly afterwards.  The Létourneau seems to have found a very good home: the extreme height of the case fits neatly under the ceiling with a few centimetres to spare, the acoustic is very live and, most importantly, there is a number of talented boys who learn and practise on this organ which gives every impression that it was made for this chapel. The College Memorial Organ was officially blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy AO on Sunday 1st September 2002 and dedicated to deceased members of the college community.

 

 

J.P. Eagles, 1969 (2/19 extension 4 ranks, electric) [5]

 

 

Great
Principal	8	A
Gedackt	8	B
Salicet	4	C
Flute	4	B
Fifteenth	2	A
Quint	1-1/3	D
Positive
Gedackt	8	B
Salicional	8	C
gvd bass with B
Octave	4	A
Quint	2 2/3	D
Piccolo	2	B
Twenty Second	1	A
Pedal
Bourdon	16	B
Principal	8	A
Gedackt	8	B
Octave	4	A
Flute	4	B
Quint	2 2/3	D
Fifteenth	2	A

 

Couplers

Positive to Great

Great to Pedal

Positive to Pedal

 

Compass 61/32

Electric Action

Detached console

 

© PdL 2005
 

 

 

Orgues Létourneau Ltée, op 22, 1989 (2/20 mechanical)

 

Hauptwerk
Principal	8
Gedackt	8
Oktav	4
Rohrflöte	4
Blockflöte	2
Mixture	IV
Trompete	8
Tremolo
Pedal
Subbass	16
Prinzipal	8
Bordun	8
Choralbass	4
Posaune	16
Schwellwerk (enclosed)
Holzgedackt	8
Salizional	8
Prinzipal	4
Koppelflöte	4
Oktav	2
Sesquialtera	II
Zimbel	III
Krummhorn	8
Tremolo

 

COUPLERS

Sw. to Hw

Hw. to Pedal

Sw. to Pedal

 

 

 

 

Mechanical Action to manuals and pedals

Electric stop action

 

Compass 58/32

 

 

Accessories

Setter piston

General cancel piston

Two levels of memory

Five general thumb pistons duplicated by toe studs

Four adjustable thumb pistons each to the Hauptwerk and the Schwellwerk

Three adjustable thumb pistons to the Pedal duplicated by toe studs

Reversible thumb pistons for Hw/Ped, Sw/Ped and Hw/Sw

Reversible toe studs for HW/Ped, SW/Ped and Full Organ

 

No. of pipes = 1,366

 

Pitch a¹  = 440 Hz

 

Wind pressures  Manuals = 70 mm (2 ¾”), Pedal  80 mm (3 ⅛”)

 

© PdL 2005