The Kney Organ
On June 3, 1973, the Rev. Beverly Madison Currin, Rector of Christ Church, announced to a surprised and grateful congregation that one family, who wished at that time to remain anonymous had offered to donate to the parish “the finest organ which can comfortably be contained in Christ Church,” the largest single gift in the 150-year history of the Parish. Dr. Currin appointed an organ committee which immediately began to learn how best, and how effectively, to accept this offering. One of its first acts was to retain as consultant Mr. Harald Rohlig, of Huntington College, Montgomery, Alabama. It was his job to provide the musical specifications for the new organ, to teach the committee to understand what was involved in the project, and to provide advice and general supervision.
The committee considered several organ builders, domestic and foreign, and eventually chose Gabriel Kney & Co., Ltd., in London, Ontario. Mr. Kney immediately visited Pensacola to test the room acoustics, for an important part of his responsibility was to design the pipework so that it would produce Mr. Rohlig’s specifications in the Christ Church sound space. The sound of the organ today would be quite different if it were moved to another location. Mr. Kney began the on-site erection of the completed instrument on October 7, 1975, after approximately two years of construction time.
Each pipe was individually tuned and then “voiced” by making subtle changes in the physical shape of each pipe, so that it sang the right note with precisely the correct tone. This finishing process is what gives an organ its character, and the Christ Church organ has the sound which has made Gabriel Kney one of the most respected organ builders in North America today.
The organ was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. George Murray, first Bishop of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, in a special service held December 21, 1975. Mr. Harald Rohlig was the recitalist.
