Skinner Opus 647 was built in 1927 for the Morley Music Hall at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, and contained 65 ranks across four manuals and pedal. Dr. Edwin Arthur Kraft, design consultant and professor of organ at the college, made the instrument an integral part of the college
experience for both organ students and the general student population over the course of his tenure. In the 1970s, the instrument was significantly altered to update it to the prevailing style of the day. Much of the original pipework was replaced or moved, the Solo and Echo divisions were eliminated, and the Skinner console was replaced with a new, modern styled three manual console. Over the years the organ slowly deteriorated due to age and water damage, and in 1990s, the organ was deemed unplayable.
From Lake Erie College’s web site:
“The Helen Rockwell Morley Hall Building was built to house Opus 647. The Morley Music Hall and Skinner organ were made possible by a gift from Charles Morley in honor of his mother. Helen Rockwell Morley was a graduate of the Willoughby Seminary and is the daughter of one of Lake Erie College’s founders. The building was designed by Abram Garfield, son of President James A. Garfield. It is of classic Greek design in Bedford limestone. The building has Corinthian pillars at the Mentor Avenue entrance, and wreaths of bas relief around the top commemorating the names of great musicians. Its 812-seat auditorium has a stage large enough for a 90-member choir. The auditorium and its pews are of Philippine mahogany.”
The names of the great musicians include several prominent composers of organ and church music popular at the time of the Hall’s construction, such as Stainer, Parry, and Guilmant. Other great musicians commemorated are Bach, Buxtehude and Sweelinck. To honor the vision and the heritage of the Morley family, the Morley Music Preservation Committee worked to restore not only the interior of the Hall, but to recapture the soul of the Skinner organ. After an extensive builder search, the committee selected Muller Pipe Organ Company to restore the original sound and specification of the organ.
One critical aspect of the restoration was the recreation of missing and compromised stops. Because much of the pipework had been removed in the 1970s project, Muller immediately searched for a suitable Skinner organ of the same era to replace missing pipework. Skinner’s much abused and irreparable 1926 Opus #553 was located and purchased from Eureka College of Eureka, Illinois. This three manual, 26 rank organ was originally located at the First Christian Church in Miami, Florida, and had been reinstalled rather poorly in the College’s former gymnasium in the late 1970s. A new supply house three manual console was installed at that time and several new ranks of pipes were added, but the organ was not treated kindly and never operated reliably after its installation at Eureka. But, thankfully, the extant pipework was in reasonably good condition and was restorable. Where pipework could not be replaced with pipework from Opus #553, new pipes were fabricated to match the original voicing and construction as faithfully as possible, using original shop notes and extant examples as guides. Other pipes, such as the entire Great Diapason chorus, had been altered beyond the scope of reasonable restoration and were replaced with additional new replica pipework. Finally, pipework such as the Choir Orchestral Oboe which had been used as the Swell Oboe, was simply returned to its original position in the organ after restoration. The original non-speaking facade pipes, which had seen many coats of paint and were in poor condition, were stripped and repaired as necessary, then refinished with gold lacquer.
One significant change was retained from the 1970s project. In the original layout, the Solo organ was at the center and top of the chamber, giving it the optimal position for speaking down the length of the auditorium. The Great organ was located in the area immediately below the Solo, and had to speak over the 8' pipes of the 1st Open Diapason and through a tone chute that opens immediately in front of the organ facade. In the 1970s, the 
Solo organ was completely eliminated and the Great organ was moved to the Solo position to improve tonal egress. After much consideration, we concluded that the Great organ would benefit most from the better location. The Solo organ was reconstructed in the Great organ’s original location and does not significantly suffer tonally due its high wind pressure voicing. Otherwise, the organ layout is as originally intended by Skinner.
The tonal result of the organ is a thrilling sound that renders music of romantic and orchestral periods exceptionally well. From the delicate Choir Dulciana to the triumphant Solo Tuba Mirabilis, the organ recreates the spirit of the Skinner Organ Company. Of particular interest is the Skinner 32' Bombarde, which blends seamlessly with the ensemble of the organ and has occasioned many comments that it is the finest 32' reed that the listener has ever encountered. The specification contains many of Skinner’s signature reed stops, such as the French Horn, English Horn, and Clarinet. These stops - some restored, some reproduction - stand as particularly good examples. The Swell Gamba and II Voix Celeste and the Solo Gamba and Gamba Celeste complement the imitative reed stops with a strong orchestral string sound. Two complete and independent choruses stand as the backbone of the Great and Swell and establish the tonal design of the organ at a significant crossroads, 1927 being the time when many were turning towards more classically inspired ensembles. Because these choruses were not completely extant, it was decided to push toward a slightly more classical ensemble so that the instrument would be more appropriate for a wide spectrum of repertoire. To achieve this, the Great IV Mixture was redesigned as a conventional mixture with “breaks” at every octave, but retaining the original 1-1/3' starting pitch. The Swell Chorus Mixture, standing now as five ranks, was based on a later Aeolian-Skinner mixture, switching places with the Dolce Cornet which was reduced to a more conventional three ranks. The acoustics of the auditorium are extremely sympathetic to the organ’s sound, and helped ensure the success of the restoration tonally.
When restoring an historical instrument such as this, it is sometimes possible to discover interesting windows to the bygone years of organbuilding. For instance, while removing the large wood pipes of the organ, the original shipping labels were found stapled to the bottoms of most of the pipes. Care was taken during the restoration to preserve these labels, plus any other items or markings remaining from the builder. In rare cases, direct links can be made from the organ’s original builders to the conservators restoring their work. Joseph Muller, the father of Henry Muller (who founded Muller Pipe Organ Company) was a 
cabinet maker for Skinner, and is it our understanding that he built many console cabinets. How fitting that one of his descendants, Jack Muller, would custom build the replacement console cabinet for this Skinner organ!
The original console, lost to the 1970s renovation, was replaced with a new measured Skinner replica console, constructed of solid mahogany to match the furnishings of the music hall. Special care was taken to outfit the console so that all accessories, from the music rack to the indicator lights, appear to be of vintage construction. To keep modern solid state controls and additional couplers disguised, they are located in a drawer underneath the right hand side of the key desk.
Mechanically, all available original parts of the Skinner mechanism were rebuilt and reused as originally intended. Additionally, swell engines, tremolos, and lumber from Opus 553 were salvaged and used in the restoration. The partially missing Choir enclosure was engineered to match the extant Swell enclosure, and a new enclosure was designed for the Solo organ. The main windchests and the majority of the smaller windchests for all divisions, except for the Solo, are original to Opus 647. Where the original mechanism had been lost and could not be replaced, new was constructed.
Opus 647 proudly stands once more as a testament to the mastery of Ernest M. Skinner and the Skinner Organ Company. The restoration was made possible by the hard work of the Morley Hall Preservation Committee, who had the initial interest in seeing the instrument and the hall restored to its former beauty. Many of the committee members and donors had heard or studied on the organ in its original form. Thanks to the vision of the Committee, the restored organ is well equipped to be a vehicle by which generations of new organists will be trained.
Todd Wilson consulted on the project and presented the inaugural concert on the newly restored organ to a full house during Alumni Weekend 2006. Lake Erie College rededicated the organ as the “Carol Morris Skinner Organ” in honor of the personal gift that allowed the preservation committee to begin the process of fundraising. The organ will be featured in a planned recital series, and once again the Morley Music Hall and the Skinner Organ will be enjoyed by both the college and the community for many years to come.
Morley Music Hall
Lake Erie College
Painesville, Ohio
