St. Francis Xavier Church

The new pipe organ at St. Francis Xavier is Opus 700 of the Peragallo Organ Company of Paterson, New Jersey. The organ contains 52 ranks of pipes with a total of 3323 speaking pipes. A total of 23 ranks of pipes have been retained from the 1950 Kilgen Organ and blended cohesively into the new tonal ensemble.

The gorgeous hand carved gallery casework from the original Hook Organ from the 1880’s was restored and the facade pipe work was re gilded and re stenciled. New twin oak case facades were installed fronting the pipe chambers in the triforium above each side of the sanctuary. The facade pipes of the cases are all functional and include extended pipe toes, rear roll tuners and gothic gold arched mouths. The tonal design of the organ is along French lines with the Grand Orgue, Grand Choeur and Pedal divisions located in the East chamber and the Récit and Positif divisions in the West chamber.

The organ is playable from a three manual and pedal French tier low profile key desk which is placed upon a movable oak platform in the music area. The key desk includes key and pedal claviers of maple naturals and rosewood sharps and draw knobs of walnut dymnwood. The music rack has been hand carved and incorporates the Xavier cross.

A complete MIDI interface and sound module allows the organist to access many digital effects for contemporary worship music and record and playback the instrument. The crowning jewel of the instrument is the stately Trompette en chamade – a set of 49 flared gold trumpet pipes mounted in the base of the gallery casework. This unique stop shall provide the organist with a most useful tool for fanfare and processional music.

The Peragallo Family recently demonstratrated this pipe organ at the American Guild of Organists Convention. John Peragallo III performed works by Hebble, Franck, and Vierne and spoke of the history of the organs and experiences the installation brought about between the Peragallo Family and St. Francis Xavier Church . Follow the link, produced by the Herald News, to catch a glimpse of the day's events:  View article here

Maestro Daniel Roth of St. Sulpice in Paris performed to a capacity crowd at this organ as part of the Peragallo Family's Centennial Celebrations.   

  Completed Organ Photos

  Organ Construction Photos