Piped Organs in Use at Lititz Moravian Church
Three of the seven piped organs owned by the Lititz Moravian Congregation are still in use and listed below. The 1787 Tannenberg was installed when the present sanctuary was consecrated. Ninety-two years later, in 1879, a Hook and Hastings organ replaced the Tannenberg. In 1912 the Church acquired its first Möller organ. That first Möller organ was replaced in 1949 by an instrument created by Sebastion Gundling and Son of Lancaster. When that organ was destroyed in the tragic fire of 1957, it was replaced by the 1959 Möller, Opus 9289 that continues in use.
1959 Möller Organ, Opus 9289
by Wayne B. LeFevre
Lititz Moravian Congregation Organist, 1963-1981
On July 2, 1957, a disastrous fire at the Lititz Moravian Church virtually destroyed everything but the walls. The organ was a total loss. After considerable study and thought, the representatives of the L P. Möller Organ Company in Hagerstown, Maryland were contacted and a custom-made instrument was created to meet the needs of the Lititz Church.
That new instrument was installed in November 1959 and was dedicated in the morning service on Sunday, May 29, 1960. Prior to that date, on May 9th, Clarence Snyder, the organist at Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, presented an organ recital to introduce the instrument to the public.
The 1959 Möller is played from a detached two-manual console. The action is Möller’s Electro-Pneumatic, and the pitch is A-440.
Great Organ
8’ Principal 61 pipes
8’ Bourdon 61 pipes
8’ Dulciana 61 pipes
4’ Octave 61 pipes
II Ranks. Grave Mixture 122 pipes
III Ranks. Fourniture 183 pipes
Tremulant
Deagen Chimes 21 tubes
Swell Organ
16’ Rohrgedeckt 73 pipes
8’ Rohrflöte 61 notes
8’ Viole de Gambia 61 pipes
8’ Viole Celeste 49 pipes
4’ Principal 61 pipes
4’ Koppelflöte 61 pipes
2’ Blockfköte 61 pipes
1 1/3’ Larigot 61 pipes
8’ Trompette 61 pipes
4’ Schalmei 61 pipes
Tremulant
Pedal Organ
16’ Soubasse 56 pipes
16’ Rohrgedeckt 32 notes
8’ Principal 56 pipes
8’ Soubasse 32 notes
8’ Rohrflote 32 notes
4’ Octave 32 notes
4’ Flute 32 notes
2’ Octave 32 notes
16’ Dble Trompette 32 notes
8’ Trompette 32 notes
4’ Trompette 32 notes
32’ Resultant
From <http://www.davidtannenberg.com/Chapter3.htm>
1787 Tannenberg Organ
By Philip T. D. Cooper
Tannenberg completed the building of an organ for Lititz Moravian Church - his own church - in the summer of 1787. It was dedicated along with the new church building on August 13. It was placed in the west gallery with two wedge-shaped bellows in the attic above the organ. These were pumped by pulling on two ropes which hung from the ceiling.
The Tannenberg organ remained in the west gallery for ninety-two years. In 1879, it was replaced with a larger instrument. Tannenberg's organ was then loaned to the Moravian congregation in South Bethlehem. In addition to being moved, it was rebuilt by an unknown builder. A more modern wind system was provided and placed within the case. (The two original bellows had been left in the attic in Lititz.) Also, a swell box was added and the stop action and pedal action were altered. The keyboard and stop knobs were also replaced. Finally, the entire organ was raised to modern pitch by cutting off the tops of the pipes.
In 1910, the organ was returned to Lititz but was placed in storage in the Single Brothers' House as well as the attic of the church. A fire that burned the church in 1957 destroyed those parts stored there as well as the two original bellows that had never been moved.
In 1976, the Archives Committee contacted the organ building firm of James R. McFarland & Co. about the possibility of a complete restoration of the organ to it's 1787 condition. The task was accepted and work began in 1980. All the missing parts of the organ were meticulously replicated included the two wedge-shaped bellows, the pedal chest, various parts of the case and the front pipes all of which had apparently been stored in the church attic. Every effort was made to strictly adhere to Tannenberg's construction methods. This was possible as a result of the very detailed documentation performed by the McFarland shop on all the extant instruments of Tannenberg.
The restoration was completed in 1983 and the organ was installed in the newly constructed gallery in the Single Brothers' House next to the church. The reconstructed bellows were placed in the attic above the gallery and are pumped by pulling two ropes that hang from the ceiling. This is now the only example of this type of wind system arrangement once quite common in many Pennsylvania-German organs.
The stop list is:
Manual: C-e3, 53 notes
Principal Discant 8F.
Flaut Amabile 8F.
Viol de Gambe 8F.
Qünt: Dehn 8F.
Principal 4F.
Floth 4F.
Sub Octav 2F.
Pedal: C-g, 20 notes
Sub: Bass 16F.
Octav Bass 8F.
The Principal Discant is actually a Principal dulcis - a narrow-scaled Principal. This stop begins from tenor g with the first fourteen pipes in the facade. The Flauto Amabile is a small scale open wood stop while the Floth is larger. The Qünt: Dehn (Quintadena) is capped metal with the five lowest as stopped wood basses. The first fifteen pipes of the Principal 4' are also in the facade. Both the pedal ranks are made of wood and are located unenclosed behind the case. The Sub Bass is stopped while the Octav Bass is open, this being the typical arrangement for Tannenberg's pedal pipes. There is also a Coppel Pedal.
Source for the stop names: A letter from Tannenberg to Brother Marshall dated December 11, 1797 in which he describes the organ in the church in Lititz.
From <http://www.davidtannenberg.com/Chapter3.htm>
1793 Tannenberg Organ
by Philip T. D. Cooper
The smaller of the two Tannenberg organs now located at Lititz Moravian Church was originally constructed for the Moravian Chapel in Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland. Tannenberg arrived there with the organ on April 25, 1793, and it was played for the first time on May 4. The organ was used continuously until 1957 when it was given to the Lititz Moravian Church and was set up in the Single Brothers' House. The organ is completely original. It was reconditioned by James R. McFarland in 1984.
The stop list is: 
NOTE: There are no labels for the stops on this organ; the names are based on Tannenberg's usual spellings of these stops.
Manual: C-f3, 54 notes
Gedackt 8F.
Viola de Gamba 8F.
Flaute 4F.
Principal 2F.
The Gedackt is stopped wood while the Flaute is open wood. The first seventeen pipes of the Gedackt are shared with the Viola de Gamba. The first nineteen pipes of the Principal are in the facade. The pitch of the organ is nearly one whole tone lower than modern pitch. The organ has no blower but can be manually pumped by the player using a metal foot pedal on the right side or by another