First Congregational Church of Madison
An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ
No matter who you are or where you are
on life's journey, you are welcome here.
1929 M.P. Möller Pipe Organ
In the late 1920s, the First Congregational Church of Madison searched for a new pipe organ to replace their old, 1869 Hook pipe organ which was failing after nearly sixty years of service. After receiving bids from several companies, a contract for a $10,000, three-manual pipe organ to be built by the M.P. Möller company of Hagerstown, Maryland was signed on Tuesday, October 29, 1929 – the very day the stock market crashed, heralding the beginning of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, the church went forward with the project, and Opus 5713 – Möller’s 5,713th instrument – was completed by the end of March, 1930. A symphonic organ, it was made to resemble an orchestral symphony which was the style of the day. It remains remarkably versatile and expressive, capable of sounding nearly inaudible to heroically powerful.
After over fifty years of nearly daily use, Opus 5713 was beginning to show signs of deterioration. Rumors began to fly about its possible removal and replacement, and the congregation jumped to the instrument’s defense. Eventually, and after many meetings, the church agreed to proceed with a full restoration in 1987 by the A. Thompson-Allen Organ Company of New Haven, and Opus 5713 would remain intact as a prime example of the symphonic instrument M. P. Möller had installed five decades before.
By 2017, it was apparent that the organ was facing another restoration. Fund-raising began at the end of August, 2018, and the goal of nearly $300,000 was reached within an astounding two months. Work began the first week of January, 2019, and the second restoration was officially completed at the end of October. A spectacular rededication recital was performed in January, 2020 by Yale University organist and international recitalist Thomas Murray.
In December, 2019, the Organ Historical Society voted to bestow the prestigious Historic Pipe Organ Award to Opus 5713 and the church. This award recognizes specific, unaltered pipe organs as having historical, cultural, and musical significance. It was the perfect capstone to the successful restoration and acknowledges the organ’s enduring legacy as an exceptional and worthy instrument.