The Story of the Chapel Organ
About 100 years after our founding, Christ Church constructed a new Parish House, including a chapel for children’s worship. Given in memory of Richard Chichester du Pont, the Chapel of the Christ Child was crafted as a delight to the eye, smaller but in similar fashion to the “big church” so that our young members could worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
With initial plans made in 2018, we have carefully restored and renewed the Chapel of the Christ Child to allow a variety of worship styles and to serve children of Christ Church Episcopal Preschool as well as the children, youth, and adults of the parish and the wider community. The final part of the renovation plan was to install an organ in the balcony in the way that had been envisioned initially, with the aim for installation in time for our 175th anniversary in 2023.
Members made financial offerings to allow the creation of a pipe organ crafted to fit our Chapel along with a grant from a local foundation. Through a yearlong process, working with proposals from three builders, the vestry accepted the proposal from C. B. Fisk Organ Builders of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The artisans at C. B. Fisk have built for us a small, 12 rank, 17 stop organ in the 16th century Italian style, a style that is characterized by low wind pressure, gentle sonorities, and singing voicing. It invites one to sing with it, and, because of its gentle quality, it is exceptionally suited to support the singing of children. The inaugural programs for Opus 164 were held on November 11 and 13 and featured concert organist Nathan Laube and members of Tempesta di Mare.
Chapel Organ
