Rabalais and Company : Rabalais Organs

Rabalais and Company
Rabalais Organs

(Rabalais does not necessarily endorse these advertisers en francais (excusez s.v.p.) : http://www.box.net/shared/obq1g0z113

ABOUT US

We are a small, "Mom and Pop" company organized in 1962, but doing business prior to that date, and are pleased to receive queries from all interested persons, old friends, customers and former employees.

HISTORY

Prior to 1960 Louis Rabalais was apprenticed to B.L. Gibson, Inc. and worked with John Widner and Schantz. In 1961 he was accepted to the staff of Casavant Freres, Limitee as a Tonal Finisher when Laurence I. Phelps was Artistic Director. At that period there were three former Gibson employees in the department. By the late 1960's the firm began to produce new organs of its own and was engaged in a little work with the John T. Fort and Steiner Organ Companies. From that period until 1995 it made organ parts and services under the subsidiary, El Dorado Organbuilders' Supply and custom keyboards for a New England Harpsichord maker. During much of this time the company represented Casavant Freres, Limitee.

PHILOSOPHY

Rabalais organs are not unified in manual divisions except for practice or very small instruments. Electric actions are either pitman with channeling in the toeboards and primares in a side bung, or slider and pallet chests with electric pull-downs. We also work in traditional mechanical action. Rabalais has restored most of the oldest tracker instruments in our area and early on made replacement trackers, rollerboards and associated action parts. Tonal designs and scaling are conservative and classical. Voicing is usually with little or no nicking and always with open toe on lower wind pressures.We attempt to adapt these traditional techniques to various liturgical traditions in both encased or exposed instruments.

We like to make as much of our organ in our own shops as possible. Consoles from scratch, including keyboards and individually turned drawknobs are typical. Pitman windchests and wooden stops are produced in house. and we have long had some capacity for metal pipe making. Almost everything used in an organ, with the exception of blowers, has at sometime been made in Rabalais shops.

REBUILDING

Much of our experience is in rebuilding, restoration and repair. Rebuilding is not always the least costly, easiest and quickest solution to an organ problem, being situation specific. Always appropriate for historic or prized organs, it may the only option for others.

ADDITIONS AND CHANGES

We make additions or changes to an existing instrument, including revoicing. Sometimes a good cleaning and/or releathering are all that an organ needs. Through the years we have become adept at rescaling and reconfiguring pipework in organs or adding casework to instruments.

Shop photo of a pseudo-case for an organ which was doubled in size and exposed by a hole in the west wall.

Visual effect in the building

MAINTENANCE AND TUNING

A mainstay of our practice had been maintenance for over forty-five years in at least six or seven states and we have experience in all facets of the craft. Normal tuning, for us, includes setting a temperament and tuning every pipe in the organ. Historical temperaments such as Werkmeister-III, Kirnberger-III and Mean-tone as well as Equal Termperament are possible.

CONSULTATION

One of the most challenging, exciting and fun aspects of what we do is consulting for individuals or institutions. We are always ready to do this and our prices for simple consultation are very reasonable.

PIANOS

Our shops were located adjacent to Southwestern Piano Company for many years, a firm which specialized in high-end restoration of grand pianos. A cooperative agreement allowed the sharing of facilities, equipment and personnel. With the closure of this business we absorbed some of their work and continue with it today.

AUDIO SAMPLES

These are principally of tapes from live church services or spontaneous tapes from hand-held machines made on the job, some just after pipe installation. The improvised sample of the Hautbois had the tremulant's muffler off for adjustment! A couple of tapes with choir are included to show the effect of the organs with choir. To hear these please chick -

HERE: http://www.box.net/shared/t75vg67ndy

PERSONNEL

Andrea Petrosh has been on our staff for a little over two years as Business Manager. No stranger to organbuilding, Andrea arrived with a diverse background and a liberal arts education, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee where she is presently a member of the Board of Trustees. She was a piano student of Mark Williams, studied violin with Dr. Elaine Allen and voice with Suzan Rupert at the University of the South. Andrea was a violinist with the South Arkansas Symphony and has been a choirister with the university choir and several church choirs, presently with the Cathedral Choir o f St. Marks, Shreveport, Louisiana where she may be occasionally heard as soprano soloist, joined by husband, Lt. Colonel Michael Petrosh, daughter Lauren. Their son, Michael III, formerly the Cathedral Organ Squire is now at The University of the South studying organ performance. Additionally, she works with choirsters in the Training Program of the Royal College of Music and she was involved in assessment and dismantling of a Katrina-damaged organ in New Orleans.

Kathleen Rabalais was a sometime visitor during the late 1950's and 6o's at the Gibson Pipe Organ Company. She and Louis began working together 1n 1961 when they were both organ performance majors at Southern Arkansas University and co-organists at St. James Episcopal Church. During that year Kathleen was first place winner if the National Federation of Music Teacher's Regional Competition. Louis and Kathleen were married in 1962 and formed Rabalais and Company. She has served two churches as full-time organist and several as interim or part time. She is recognized for skill in music, organ playing and organbuilding, especially for matchless wiring. Holding a graduate degree in Social Work Administration and an Arkansas L.C.S.W. as well as post graduate courses in music, law and accounting she handles the company's financial affairs.

Louis Rabalais was a piano student from the age of seven through high school. In the 10th grade he became a student of Mattie Lee Pate at Louisiana College and remained her student as an organ major for three and a half years. When a freshman, he began working with B.L.Gibson, Inc., spending summers in the Gibson shops. During that period he studied violinmaking with William Curry, PhD. and played the violin in two symphony orchestras. A move to Southern Arkansas University, where he received two degrees, was made to continue with the Gibson Company until leaving for Casavant Freres. In 1981 he began working at Southern Arkansas University part time and for a few years, full time at South Akansas Community College as Choral Director, teaching music, electrical theory and building technology. In 2007 he left to spend full attention to Rabalais and Company.

Louis is active in music as a chorister, occasionally writing an anthem, and singing with the South Arkansas Community College Choral society, which he and Kathleen had a hand in founding. Interests include amateur radio (KA5IAN) and sometimes making a violin.

Louis Rabalais III was often present on organ installations, rebuilds and maintenance trips. At the age of 10 he asked to tune a stop and we were surprised to see him do it perfectly. Later, he displayed the same level of skill with mechanical devices, often discovering the fault in a newly built pitman chest faster than anyone else. He has an excellent ear, and insists on perfect workmanship.

Other industries discovered these abilities and after college he has been employed elsewhere. We hope that by 2010 he will be with us on an occassional, part-time basis.

In junior high school he began singing in school choirs, playing the violin, double bass and French horn. He continued in high school choirs and was awarded a choir scholarship to college. As a sophomore he received the Outstanding Choral Student award.

What is it?

In the 1970's when we first began making pipes there was a necessity for very accurate scale sticks and patterns. This device was made depending on the accuracy of an all-thread rod. It has been so sucessful in spite of lack of sophistication, that it has been continually used since. Feel free to copy it and contact us for details.

Informal Musings

Principal Voicing: http://www.box.net/shared/0ouuh9o6v2

Tools, Voicing and others: http://www.box.net/shared/1xs9mrkg84

Music, God and Organs: http://www.box.net/shared/zgd00bnfmi

Opus 1 Harpsichord 1976 http://www.box.net/shared/4uenfuorf2

Contact Information: Thank You for Visiting!

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