Longtime La Grange resident Paul Mumford’s late wife was passionate enough about music that she made sure all their seven children had piano lessons, giving them a solid background in reading music.
Now he’s honoring her memory by picking up half the cost of the latest addition to Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s half-century-old pipe organ.
“The church had already had an extensive repair of the main organ,” Mumford said in a recent interview, speaking of the just-under $500,000 rebuilding of the organ that was first installed in 1970.
The original plan in the late 1960s was that the Casavant Opus 3062 Pipe Organ would also include a separate set of pipes, called an Antiphonal Division. For one reason or another, particularly cost, an Antiphonal had never been installed. The current cost of adding the Antiphonal Division is slightly under $240,000.
“I just thought let’s finally get the job done and we’ll really have a number one church as far as organ quality,” Mumford said. “My wife Shirley loved the church and she loved music and I thought we’ll have a matching donation and I’ll do this in memory of her.”
An Antiphonal Division is a set of pipes distant from the organ console, typically in the back of a church, often on both sides of the church and in a balcony, but controlled by the main console.
The desired effect is to provide supporting tones to foster a “surround sound,” effect. The notes coming from the Antiphonal Division are typically somewhat quieter in front but more pronounced in the rear of the church.
“What the Antiphonal will do, the most important thing is leading the congregation in hymn singing,” church organist George Tarasuk said. “When the sound comes from behind, it kind of encourages singing. With the sound coming from just the front, that’s great. But this is what the organ was originally designed to be … without it, it’s been incomplete for 50 years.”
“The goal is to let the sound wash over parishioners,” Pastor David Jackson, Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal, said in a recent telephone interview. “Hopefully, in hearing the sound from behind it will make the parishioners participate in making a joyful noise … at Emmanuel, we definitely take our worship seriously, but we also celebrate the arts in all of their forms. Music is part of our DNA as a congregation.”
Indeed, Emmanuel Episcopal has long been known for its pipe organ. It was designed by master craftsman Lawrence Phelps in the late 1960s and built specifically for the space at Emmanuel Episcopal, which sits at the geographic center of the 600-acre tract of land that village founder Franklin Cossitt designated as the original boundaries of the village, according to the La Grange Area Historical Society. The current value of the organ is approximately $1.1 million.
Emmanuel Episcopal first began services in 1874, the same year the Chicago Episcopal Diocese granted the congregation parish status and five years before the village was incorporated after a couple of years of holding services in a private home. The original church was designed by La Grange resident John Tilton.
When the original church burned down in 1924, the congregation turned to John Tilton Jr. to design a new building. It was designed in association with prominent New York firm Bertram Goodhue and Associates, who were at the same time designing Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago.
The church has also earned a spot in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Register of Historic Places.
Jackson spoke of the importance of the project to Emmanuel Episcopal.
“It’s a really significant project for us for several reasons,” he said. “The original plan all those decades ago was to do this. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Also, in the year where our parish is turning 150 years old, to be able to see the fullness of this vision is really special.
“Because the original organ was designed for this space, it works very well with our acoustics. The same builder, Casavant in Quebec, is doing the Antiphonal…the sound is going to be exactly what we need for our space. It will also fill in some gaps by making some sounds that the original organ doesn’t, giving us a more complete sound.”
Jackson noted that there weren’t that many Antiphonal apparatuses around, estimating that there were a handful in Chicago. The church’s fundraising has succeeded to the point where the funds required for the Antiphonal Division are in sight.
“We’re essentially there,” Jackson said of the church’s fundraising to match Mumford’s donation. The last report is that we’re down to the final $10,000.”
The church’s fundraising has consisted mainly of a concert series, and renting the space out to different choral groups.
The Antiphonal Organ dedication concert will be at 3 p.m., May 5.
For information on Emmanuel Episcopal and its concert schedule and other activities, visit its website emmanuel-lagrange.org.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.