On the Fourth of July, 1867, the good people of Peterborough were invited by the members of the Unitarian society to a "Great Party and Recital" played on a splendid new pipe organ just installed in the historic church building on Main Street. On March 14, 2004, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the community again is invited to attend another recital on this remarkable musical instrument, celebrating completion of its restoration after 137 years of service.

Build in 1865-67 by the pre-eminent Boston firm of E. & G. G. Hook, this organ like many other fine 19th century instruments, was "modernized" in 1933. Reflecting the taste of that time for a big, symphonic sound. The console and all its mechanical connections to the pipes were removed, many of the pipes altered and others added, to produce a quite different quality of sound from the original. An electro-pneumatic system was installed, connecting the manual keys and the pedals to the pipe assemblies. With the passage of time deterioration of many of these components set in, greatly increasing the cost of maintenance and threatening collapse of the entire system.

Faced with the possibility of losing the use of its historic organ the church in 1997 appointed a task force from its membership to research the problem and come up with a recommendation for action. The new committee began its work by hiring Barbara Owen of Newburyport, MA, a nationally known expert on pipe organ restoration. After making a complete check of the instrument, she reported that, despite the 1933 alterations, much of the original Hook organ was still viable – including the handsome American walnut casework, most of the 1867 pipes, and the decorative front pipes with their original stenciling. She concluded that, if rebuild properly, the organ could regain the special tonal and mechanical quality that it once had, and at half the cost of a new organ of comparable size.

With this assurance, and after two years visiting other churches and a number of area organ builders, the committee recommended that restoration and not replacement was the way to go. The church then contracted with the highly regarded Andover Organ Company to proceed with the work, and in July, 2002, skilled artisans of this firm completely dismantled the organ, taking pipes, casings and console to their shop in Lawrence, MA. There, over the course of a year, they designed and built an entirely new tracker mechanical action and console, repairing and adjusting pipe work and air systems, to approximate as closely as possible the authentic Hook character. The meticulously restored instrument was lovingly returned to its proper place in the balcony of the sanctuary during the summer of 2003, where it resumes its status as a priceless historic asset to the entire Peterborough community.

In preparing for the concert in March to celebrate this notable accomplishment it seems appropriate to think about the meetings and discussions, any no doubt controversial, leading to the purchase of the organ in 1867. There had been none in the church up to then and the anticipated cost was considerable because of their determination to buy an instrument of top quality from the Hook firm in Boston. From many letters in the files of the Peterborough Historical Society, it appears that the effort was led by Mssrs. T.D. Albert Smith, Timothy K. Ames, and Albert S. Scott. These gentlemen sent letters far and wide to former members of the Association who had left the region. Nor did they neglect those nearby, as is documented by contemporary accounts in the Peterborough Transcript. Its issue of December 8th, 1866 advertised an "ORGAN FESTIVAL AND LEVEE" to which the public was respectfully invited, beginning at 5 o'clock at the Town Hall, Wednesday Eve, December 12, 1866, proceeds to be applied to the purchase of an organ for the Unitarian Church.

It must have been quite a party. The program offered

"The Old Folks' Concert, Juvenile Singing, Music by the Peterborough

Cornet band, Farmers Kitchen, Tableaux Vivants, Grab bag, Gypsy's

Tent, Shooting Gallery, & C!"

Refreshments consisting of "Oysters, Pies, Cakes, Tea and Coffee, Ice Cream, Fruits, and Confectionery & C." were furnished "at all hours, at reasonable prices, TICKETS 25 CENTS, Children under 12 years of age, 15 cents." The Transcript reviewed the event at length December 22nd, commenting especially on "the old Singers aged from fifty to eighty who sang tunes that were the old fage tunes that were popular in their day, and the audience generally agreed that there was more heart music in them than in modern tunes, where the music is refined away."

The levee raised $455.00 and the rest of the money came mostly from subscriptions by church members and others in town favorable to the enterprise. The cost of the Hook organ was $2,600.00 plus $321.00 for "fixtures", a considerable sum for the time. The total cost of the original brick church building when built in 1825-26 was $6,140.69, according to the Morison History of Peterborough.

Times change, and so does the value of money. The contract price of the present organ restoration is $166,500.00, which has been raised almost entirely by contributions from members and friends. Fortunately, funding began early after the organ's troubles became a concern. Arlene Dart, then the church organist, was inspired in 1996 to make a generous gift establishing a trust fund to which interested members and friends made additions for several years before the organized campaign began in November, 2000. Some $50,000.00 had accumulated in the fund by the time the contract for restoration was signed, and the balance needed to complete the payments has come from the highly successful pledge campaign now ended. Sarah Clark, minister of the church, conducted a service of rededication of the organ on November 2, 2003. The final act of celebration will occur at 3:00pm on Sunday, March 14th, 2004, when the renowned organist, Peter Sykes, Director of the Music at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, will perform a recital which undoubtedly will reestablish the nearly 137 year old historic organ as one of the chief musical assets of the town of Peterborough.

W. Luis Molina Co-Chairman

Historic Organ Restoration Fund Committee

March 2004

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