Complete description of the selected organ
Photo: Patrick J. Murphy and Associates
Bally, USA (Pennsylvania) - Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Municipal: Bally
Region:Berks County
Address: 610 Pine Street, 19503, Bally, PA
Website: https://mbsbally.org/
Description nr.: 2078617.
Built by: John & Andrew Krauss (1799)
Photo: Patrick J. Murphy and Associates
Bally, USA (Pennsylvania) - Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Municipal: Bally
Region:Berks County
Address: 610 Pine Street, 19503, Bally, PA
Website: https://mbsbally.org/
Description nr.: 2078617.
Built by: John & Andrew Krauss (1799)
| Year | Builder | Opus | Activity | 1799 | John & Andrew Krauss | new organ | 1864 | George Krauss | restoration | 1904 | Barrington & Oakey | rebuild | 1963 | Hartman-Beaty Organ Company | reconstruction | 1975 | Builder unknown | maintenance/reparations | 2024 | Patrick J. Murphy | reconstruction |
- In 1799, brothers John and Andrew Krauss completed an organ for the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Bally, Pennsylvania. It was an organ with one manual, a pedal with thirteen keys and ten registers. In 1864, the instrument was renovated and expanded by George Krauss, son of Andrew, together with his son Edwin. The latter was necessary because the church building had been considerably enlarged decades earlier. The organ now had two manuals and a pedal, with the second manual being placed in a swell box.
- The organ was converted and expanded in 1904 by the firm of Barrington & Oakey. A large part of the pipework was renewed. An electric wind motor was installed in 1909. The front pipes were painted gold a few years later.
- A major restoration took place in 1963 by the Hartman-Beaty Organ Company. Due to the poor condition of the organ, much material was newly manufactured, including many pipes, the keyboard, new front pipes and partly new mechanisms. The swell box was removed. The organ now had sixteen registers on two manuals and pedal. In 1975, the pedal keyboard from 1864, with a span of eighteen keys (C-f°), was replaced by a new one with a span of thirty-two keys (C-g').
- In 2022 it was decided to have the organ rebuilt, with the Krauss organ as a starting point, expanded with a free pedal. The assignment was given to Patrick J. Murphy & Associates. The existing pipework by Krauss has been carefully restored. The front pipes from 1963 have remained. The organ case has been completely restored and expanded with two pedal towers on both sides.
| Links |
https://mbsbally.org/mbs-pipe-organ |