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The Chapel of the Reformed Faith, New York City (New York)  Opus 42, 1996
In November 1994 we were commissioned to build a new organ for the chapel of The Brick Presbyterian Church located at Park Avenue and 91st Street in New York City. By the end of May 1996 the organ had been completely assembled, voiced and tuned in the chapel. This two manual and pedal instrument is of nineteen stops and twenty-six ranks. Its specification was drawn up in consultation with Keith S. Toth, the Minister of Music of The Brick Church. The overall design of the organ is strongly influenced by the French choir organs (orgues de choeur) and smaller grand orgues of the second part of the 19th century, especially those instruments built by the famous Parisian firm of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Although this instrument is not an exact replica of such instruments, one can easily define this new organ as built à la manière of Cavaillé-Coll with adaptations incorporating late 20th century organ-building practices. The organ case is of solid American black walnut and is stained to match the chapel's existing walnut woodwork. The case design closely resembles the orgue de salon built by Cavaillé-Coll for the composer Charles-François Gounod. Hand carved ornaments and moldings are patterned after the chapel's architectural details. The console is patterned after those by Cavaillé-Coll. The suspended action keyboards have mammoth tusk ivory naturals and ebony sharps; the pedalboard is of maple with ebony caps for the sharps. All pipe scalings, materials, construction and on-site voicing reflect the Cavaillé-Coll tradition with due consideration given to the chapel's size and acoustic. The organ is equipped with a state-of-the-art, touch-screen controlled combination and sequencer system designed for this organ by Syncordia International, Inc. of St.-Lambert, Québec. Organ virtuoso Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot, Professor of Organ at the French National Regional Conservatory of Caen in Haute Normandie and titular organist of the 1868 Cavaillé-Coll grand organ in the Church of St.-Pierre in Dreux, France, played the opening recitals on October 25-26, 1996. Subsequent recitals in the dedicatory series were played by K. Bryan Kirk, Keith S. Toth, and Mollie H. Nichols respectively. A note from Mme Jacqueline G. Cavaillé-Coll to Keith S. Toth 18 août 1997New York City Cher Monsieur, quel plaisir pour moi d'avoir eu le privilège d'entendre, et de regarder de près, l'orgue de Chapelle, oeuvre de la manufacture Guilbault-Thérien. Cet excellent petit instrument rend hommage au souvenir de mon arrière-grand-père, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, en reproduisant aussi fidèlement que possible la couleur tonale d'un grand orgue Cavaillé-Coll. Mes félicitations au facteur d'orgues, à l'organiste, et aux personnalités de la "Brick Presbyterian Church" de Park Avenue à New York City, qui ont rendu possible ce haut fait. Veuillez agréer, Monsieur Toth, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués. Jacqueline G. Cavaillé-Coll A note from Mme. Jacqueline G. Cavaillé-Coll to Keith S. Toth I8 August 1997New York City Dear Sir, What a pleasure it is for me to have the privilege to hear, and to inspect closely, the orqan of the Chapel, the work of the firm Guilbault-Thérien. This excellent small instrument pays homage to the memory of my great-grandfather, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and also reproduces as faithfully as possible the tone colours of a great Cavaillé-Coll organ. My congratulations to the orqan builder, the organist, and to the people of the "Brick Presbyterian Church" of Park Avenue in New York City, who have made possible this great deed. Yours sincerely, Mr. Toth, Jacqueline G. Cavaillé-Coll 
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