New tech, old sound at All Angels Episcopal by the Sea Episcopal Church

The sounds of the great pipe organs of church halls past can now be heard in All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church, thanks to an upgrade in the electronic organ at the altar. 

“This organ is unique in that every stop on the organ is the sound of a pipe organ,” church music director Dale Hooey said. “It's amazing, the technology. What you are hearing is a pipe organ sound.” 

The church had an electronic organ, but after 26 years it wore out. The one the church now is made by Allen Organ to replicate the sounds of the great pipe organs of yesteryear. It’s a huge update in organ technology, and Hooey said the All Angels organ was the first of its kind that was shipped out. 

“It's the ultimate right now in electronic organs,” Hooey said. “But I suspect that they will come to be obsolete.”

This new model cost upwards of $125,000, Hooey said. The first Allen Organ he played in the 1950's cost around $3,000.

"That model is actually in their museum now at Allen," Hooey said. 

Hooey is still learning the new organ, even though he's spent a few hours on it already. The organ is such a full-body experience to play that he doesn't think he could've learned it as an adult. 

"I'm getting to be familiar on it now," Hooey said. "You should spend a few hours on it before playing in public."

Hooey has been doing concerts from the organ bench most Thursday mornings since November. The music is broadcast out onto the church lawn and recently, church members have been able to come inside to experience the organ. He'll be doing "tours" of the new organ and all its stops and sounds throughout May, 11 a.m. on Thursday mornings. 

For the first concert with the new organ on May 6, a dozen members came to watch Hooey take them on a tour through the organ. It’s about the size of a piano, but take a peek at the keys and any person inexperienced with the organ may get a little dizzy. There are three rows of keys, pistons that Hooey pulls on either side and pedals below that he taps for more sounds. According to Hooey, you're not a real organist if you don't play with your feet. 

“What people don't understand when they look at the organ, they say, ‘Oh my word, how do you play that thing?’” Hooey said. “The larger the organ, and the more buttons and pistons, the easier it is to play. All of these things help the organist ... If you put your fingers and feet in the right place it plays itself." 

For his May 6 concert, Hooey showcased each set of stops on the organ — flute, reed, string and diapason — and played a piece that used each set of sounds. After the concert, every church member in attendance came up to get a closer look at Hooey’s mastery. He played a few notes and noted what size pipe would be necessary on the instruments of the past to play that same sound. One would've been a towering eight-foot pipe, while a higher note would've been just three inches. 

“They call it the king of instruments and rightly so,” Hooey said. “It's just a fun instrument to play. It's one of the joys of my life playing church music.”