Richard Craig Hamar
1979

The organ was installed in a temporary ediface in 1893. Unusual for such a small organ, typically built with two divisions on one windchest, the organ was stacked with separate windchests, Swell over Great. When the church built a larger permanent structure in 1904, the organ was rebuilt by E.W. Lane for the basement chapel. Due to restricted height, the Swell was lowered and placed behind the Great in a horizontal layout, but without shortening the original upright frame stiles. When restored by Hamar in 1979, the organ was returned to its original stacked configuration and was restored without tonal alteration. The cost of the organ acquisition was $10,000, an astoundingly high figure for an organ of this size and date, when the typical small organ might be had for between one or two thousand dollars. The restoration cost was $20,000.

Updated through online information from T. Daniel Hancock. -- "Our Lady of Sorrows is a white frame building of no particular distinction built in 1926. The organ is a seven stop, two manual George Hutchings instrument, Opus 340 of 1893. In 1976 it was removed from the lower church of St. Margaret's RC Church in Dorchester, MA by the late Alan Laufman of the Organ Clearing House; it was restored and installed in Our Lady of Sorrows in 1977 by Richard Hamar. Once again Richard was able to describe for us what had to be done to restore the organ and reinstall it in its present location. Though very small, the Hutchings is surprisingly powerful and versatile, and it features the fine flue voicing for which Hutchings was justly admired. A young Ernest Skinner was the shop superintendant at Hutchings then, and it was there that he made a number of his innovations in organ mechanisms. This organ is purely mechanical action, however, as were most small Hutchings instruments. It was really a privilege to have the organist of the church, Irene Listorti, as our host. Irene received a warm round of applause when she told us that she has served as organist of this church for 40 years." (excerpted from Stephen Roberts posting to Piporg-L)

The original builder was Hutchings, George S. (1893, Opus 340).

Status Note: There 1980.

From St. Margaret's R. C., Dorchester, Boston, MA through the Organ Clearing House. Removed from there in 1976. Restored by R. Hamar, who returned the organ to original layout. Dedicated here on 30 Sep 1979.