Sherbrooke Village Receives Casavant Organ

A restoration project is breathing new life into a century-old pipe organ at a church in Sherbrooke Village.

A 1917 Casavant organ installed in the St. James Presbyterian Church in Sherbrooke this summer is poised to provide a second century of beautiful music, after being rescued by a team of volunteers that protects pipe organs in Nova Scotia.

A ceremony to mark the installation will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, 2 p.m. at the church.

The Organ Rescue Project, run by the Royal Canadian College of Organists Halifax, obtained the organ from the Milton Christian Church in Queens County, which is downsizing and could not house the instrument.

“We are pleased to assist our friends from Milton Christian Church find a new home for this incredible piece of Nova Scotia’s cultural heritage,” said Mark Sajatovich, executive director of Sherbrooke Village.

Over the years, changes were made to the organ, such as replacing the original hand-blown mechanism with an electric blower.

The Casavant Opus 717 was built in Quebec as part of a production of pieces aimed at wealthy Americans who would purchase them for their houses. Because of Casavant’s reputation for beautiful craftsmanship and longevity, smaller churches found them an attractive alternative to a custom-designed instrument costing considerably more.

Sherbrooke Village, part of the Nova Scotia Museum, depicts a typical Nova Scotian village during the province’s industrial boom in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Source: Release