• phone: 978.283.1909
  • email: cbfisk@cbfisk.com

Opus 134

Covenant Presbyterian Church

Nashville, TN

Ranks: 55
Independent Voices: 40
Pipes: 2974
Created: 2009

Print this page

Designed by architects Bullock, Smith and Partners, the church takes full advantage of a commanding hilltop setting above the city. Installed in 2009, Opus 134 stands atop the choral risers at the front of the church. Dr. Janette Fishell, with whom we had worked so productively at Opus 126 in Greenville, NC, served as consultant to the organ committee, helping to make clear the possibilities and choices in the specification. Terry Eason, the liturgical designer, and Dana Kirkegaard, the acoustician, were indispensable in creating the excellent placement of the instrument and choir and the carefully shaped supporting structures around them.

Charles Nazarian’s visual design of the organ case grew from our use of a 3-D model of the building, allowing site lines to the rose window above and behind the organ to be thoughtfully considered, ensuring that the 48-foot tall instrument does not overwhelm the chancel.

An eight-week installation and many months of finish voicing made certain that the 20-ton, red oak organ fit the space perfectly and spoke properly into the outstanding acoustics for music and worship.

Opus 134

Great, Manual I
Principal 16′ façade
Octave 8′ façade
Gambe 8′
Spire Flute 8′
Harmonic Flute 8′
Octave 4′
Open Flute 4′
Quinte 2 2/3′
Superoctave 2′
Tierce 1 3/5′
Progressive Mixture
Full Mixture VI
Bombarde 16′
Trompette 8′
Clarion 4′

Positive, Man II, enclosed
Quintaton 16′
Principal 8′ façade
Diapason 8’
Salicional 8′
Gedackt 8′
Octave 4′
Rohrflöte 4′
Nasard 2 2/3′
Doublette 2′
Tierce 1 3/5′
Mixture IV
Cor anglais 16′
Clarinette 8′
Tuba mirabilis 8′

Swell, Man III, enclosed
Bourdon 16′
Viole de gambe 8′
Voix céleste 8′
Flûte traversière 8′
Bourdon 8′
Flûte octaviante 4′
Octavin 2′
Plein jeu IV-V
Cornet III (G0-d3)
Basson 16′
Trompette 8′
Hautbois 8′
Voix humaine 8′
Clairon 4′

Pedal, 32 notes
Principal 32′     ext
Contrebasse 16′
Principal 16′     Gt
Soubasse 16′
Bourdon 16′     Sw
Quinte 10 2/3′     ext
Octave 8′
Gambe 8′     Gt
Spire Flute 8′     Gt
Bourdon 8′     ext
Octave 4′
Contre Bombarde 32′    ext
Trombone 16′
Bombarde 16′     Gt
Trompette 8′     Gt
Clarion 4′     Gt

Stops in italics are “Prepared.”

Couplers:

Positive to Great
Swell to Great
Swell to Positive
Octaves graves

Great to Pedal
Positive to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Pedal 4′

Accessories:

Great and Positive Tremulant
Swell Tremulant
Flexible Wind
Cymbelstern
Balanced Positive and Swell Pedals

Kowalyshyn Servopneumatic Lever: This provides a pneumatic assist (similar to a Barker Machine, but more refined) to the Great key action. It also allows the addition of the “Octaves graves” coupler to the organ. This coupler couples the servopneumatic lever to itself one octave lower. Therefore it couples the Great to itself at sub-octaves and any division coupled to the Great also appears on the Great at sub-octaves.
Casework: A single cabinet of wood, designed to harmonize with and adorn the church interior.
Keydesk: Attached to case, three manuals and pedal; manuals 61 keys CC – c4, naturals of bone, sharps of ebony; flat pedalboard 32 keys CC – g1.
Front Pipes: Front pipes of burnished tin.