Church to hold service to dedicate pipe organ

More than 10 years ago, the congregation at Christ Church by the Sea committed itself to a laborious task, the fruits of which will be realized this afternoon in the form of harmonious music.

The public is invited to the church’s Pipe Organ Dedication Service at 2 p.m. today. Former church organist Barbara King flew down from Anacortes, Wash., to perform the service, and will be aided by music director and organist Craig Davis.

The “mover and shaker” behind the project, King suggested that the church consider replacing its electronic organ in 1996, at which time Davis — who happened to be a pipe organ builder — was hired on as music director.

He promptly took up the arduous job, eager to hear the rich sound of a nonsynthetic organ — believed to be one of the oldest instruments, evolved from the Greek hydraulis — within the church walls.

“In the 21st century, everything is fake, everything is a plastic copy of a real thing,” he said. “But a pipe organ is a real, organic thing, and that makes it truly unique.”

King echoed that sentiment, describing the instrument’s resonant sounds as what drew her to it as a college student in 1960, later earning a bachelor’s degree in music, focusing on the organ.

“A pipe organ is a wind instrument, so when you play it, it’s breathing,” said King, who left the congregation five years ago, but promised to return for the instrument’s dedication. “When I was in college, I went at it full steam ahead and I haven’t stopped.”

Over the last decade, members of the congregation have volunteered hours to the project, re-configuring, re-wiring and re-building many of the organ’s components. Parishioners also participated in the church’s pipe-cleaning day and buy-a-pipe fundraising event.

Owing to everyone’s hard work, the church was able to obtain the organ for less than half of what is would normally cost — $250,000.

“Unfortunately, if you want to save money, it’s going to take a little more time,” said Davis, who donated countless hours to project.

Though the organ’s stops — controls on the console that select a particular sound — are marked with French nomenclature, the organ is best described as American eclectic, and is a good choice for a service organ, Rev. George Crisp said.

“This instrument calls people to worship in reverence and praise,” said he said. “The meditative and prayerful mood it creates matches the yearning of the human soul.”

Fortunately, the church’s edifice — built in the 1940s as a place of worship — is well suited to the new apparatus. Its two wind chambers that stood empty for many years are now filled with 17 ranks of roughly 60 pipes each, oddly resembling a stockpile of nuclear warheads (lead, tin and zinc pipes) and rolling pins (wooden pipes).

“To get more than 1,000 pipes neatly into that small space is no small feat,” King said.

Ranging from 4- to 8-feet in length, the façade pipes were fashioned from flamed copper, which obtains its fire-like appearance through heat and acid treatment.

In addition to performances of Toccatas by J.S. Bach and Charles-Marie Widor, King and Crisp will lead children in “Rex, the King of Instruments,” an educational and amusing piece that demonstrates some of the two manual organ’s many functions. A reception will follow the service.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Pipe Organ Dedication Service

WHEN: 2 p.m. today

WHERE: Christ Church by the Sea, 1440 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach

COST: Free

INFO: (949) 673-3805