The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving wind through pipes selected by a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks. Most organs have multiple ranks of pipes of differing timbre, pitch and loudness that the player can employ singly or in combination through the use of controls called stops.
Organs are unique to their location, each pipe scaled during the handcrafted process at the factory and then being “voiced” to speak into its new acoustical home.
The organ at the Cathedral has three keyboards called manuals played by the hands, and a pedal board played by the feet, each of which has its own group of stops. The organ's continuous supply of wind allows it to sustain notes for as long as the corresponding keys are depressed, unlike the piano and harpsichord whose sound begins to decay immediately after attack.
The original organ at the Cathedral was built by Johnson and Son of Westfield, Massachusetts in the 1860's. During the last major renovation at the Cathedral, in 1924 Casavant Frères Ltée built and installed a new three manual organ in the chancel behind the finely crafted wooden facades. The organ pipes and related wind chests and playing action are divided on either side of the Chancel.
The organ at the Cathedral is a glorious instrument able to represent the vast repertoire composed over the centuries as well as thrill with improvisations and service music revealing the power and majesty as well as the sensitive and lyrical.