High-tech instrument creates 'spine-tingling' traditional sound, organist insists, as Detroit parish returns to musical roots

DETROIT — St. Josaphat Church is bringing that old organ sound back to Mass.

Staff from Allen Park-based Viscount Organs of Michigan installed a new, two-manual, digital organ in the choir loft of St. Josaphat Church on Canfield Street in Detroit on Nov. 25.

The new organ replaces an older organ from a former Protestant church that was installed at St. Josaphat in 1966 but was destroyed in early November 2018 after a week’s worth of rain crept through a leak in the roof directly above the organ.

Although the removal of the old organ led to the discovery of a beautiful, rarely seen stained-glass window, the parish has been using a Yamaha electric keyboard for Mass, which parish staff said was insufficient as a long-term solution for the 118-year-old church.

After news of the parish's predicament broke, Aaron Kaleniecki, owner of Viscount Organs, approached Mother of Divine Mercy Parish, which encompasses St. Josaphat and nearby Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, about a possible replacement.

Kaleniecki told Detroit Catholic the new electric instrument is “probably six to eight times less costly than the original pipe organ that was removed.” 

“With a digital organ, there are no windblown pipes, so it’s far less costly, and will take up less real estate,” Kaleniecki said.

The last point means the organ won't cover the century-old stained-glass window depicting Christ's crucifixion, which had been hidden for 50 years before the prior organ's demise. 

While the term “digital organ” might cause some organ purists to shudder, Kaleniecki assures traditionalists today’s digital organ technology replicates the sound of a pipe organ just fine, and at a fraction of what it would cost to restore the “original” pipe organ.

“With the latest technology, it duplicates the sound of a pipe organ as much as possible,” Kaleniecki said. “I’ll never say it can recreate the sound of a pipe organ — I can’t go that far — but it’s so good, trained ears can’t tell the difference.”

Parts for the digital organ arrived Nov. 20, and staff from Viscount Organs moved the parts via a lift to the choir loft of the church on Nov. 25. Once in the choir loft, the crew will assemble the organ and accompanying sound system. Factoring fine tuning and sound testing, the entire process should take six to eight hours.

Needing that organ sound

Ron Weiler, St. Josaphat's organist, said he was grateful to use the Yamaha electric keyboard in the interim, but nothing competes with the sound of traditional organ music, especially in a church as steeped in tradition as St. Josaphat. 

“With Mass with Fr. Greg (Tokarski, pastor of Mother of Divine Mercy Parish) in such a beautiful church, an amazing facility, you didn’t want to let it go without an organ,” Weiler said. 

When Kaleniecki presented Weiler and Fr. Tokarski with a digital organ in the parish’s price range, it seemed like a perfect fit.

“There is an element of the organist community that could be appalled, putting a digital organ in a traditionalist church, but you have to remember, we would never remove a pipe organ to put in a digital one on purpose,” Weiler said. “But the organ at St. Josaphat wasn’t even the original, coming from a different church, and it was woefully inadequate with the space. It had a difficulty filling the church, a bad disposition, and in several spots in the church you couldn’t hear it well.”

Weiler, a self-described “organ purist,” had the chance to play a Viscount digital organ before, and believes it holds up to the standards of a traditional organ.

“I’m telling you, it fills the church with beautiful organ music that’s spine-tingling; it just shakes the floor,” Weiler said. “When you sit in the pew, and if you weren’t looking, you wouldn't know the difference. The technology of these instruments is amazing.”

The digital organ will be amplified by an eight-speaker system and subwoofer, but with no pipes, it won't block the newfound stained-glass window.

Fr. Tokarski agreed that the new organ fits the bill perfectly, adding it will allow parishioners to better enter into communion with God during the liturgy.

“When you read the Church's documents, it shows the organ is the church instrument,” Fr. Tokarski said. “It’s the most appropriate instrument to be used at the liturgy. St. Josaphat is an old church, and those who go to St. Josaphat prefer this kind of music, this kind of Mass. We often say the Eucharistic prayer in Latin, chanting in Gregorian chant, singing some hymns in Polish. And for that, you need the organ.”

The right instrument for the right place

The new digital organ incorporates the classical sound of an organ with modern amenities, such as a low maintenance costs compared to a pipe organ and a new sound system for the church so parishioners can better hear the organ and Fr. Tokarski celebrate Mass.

The new organ costs $32,000, a figure the parish could cover thanks to its annual Pierogi Festival. Still, given the financial strain of running two historic churches in Detroit, the parish is starting a “Buy a Key” campaign.

“It’s a beautiful church, and without the proper instrument of music like the organ, it really makes no sense,” Fr. Tokarski said. “We’ve received a positive response, even from people who are not Catholic but appreciate beautiful churches in Detroit.”

Weiler said he is eager to gets his fingers on the new organ’s keys as soon as he can.

“From my perspective, I want to play it the minute they turn it on,” Weiler said. “The goal is to have it all ready by Christmas, maybe earlier. We’ll have a blessing of the organ, but I'm all for firing it up as soon as we can.”

The parish will officially bless the organ on Christmas Eve at 10 p.m. with 30 minutes of music prior to Mass.

Fr. Tokarski is excited as well, and knows how much the new organ means to the St. Josaphat community.

“We are celebrating the Holy Mass, a liturgy made of words and actions, all part of this spiritual dialogue between the congregation and the Lord,” Fr. Tokarski said. “All this conversation with God turns into deep prayer, into something emotional, and we express our spiritual emotions through music.

“When we celebrated the feast day of Mother of Divine Mercy, the liturgy was about Mary and the old-fashioned songs, and I saw people receiving holy Communion crying,” Fr. Tokarski added. “It tells you how much music helps you in celebration. So for that reason, having a real organ in St. Josaphat was necessary.”