GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) — There are few pipe organs in the world that have a nickname, a feminine pronoun and a Facebook fan page.
The Hazel Wright organ — just “Hazel,” to her admirers — was removed piece by piece in 2013 from Christ Cathedral’s shimmering sanctuary in Southern California’s Orange County, and shipped to Italy for repair. At the time, the fifth-largest pipe organ in the world was suffering from an infestation of bugs. Its pipes were melted, its trumpets corroded.
Nearly a decade and $3 million later, Hazel is back in the fully remodeled sanctuary, and heavenly chords from her pipes once again ring out in the vaulted nave of the iconic church.
“It was amazing to see people’s reactions to this powerful instrument,” said David La’O Ball, a Juilliard-trained organist and head of music ministry at Christ Cathedral, where Hazel was played for the public for the first time this month during a Mass on World Marriage Day. “Their eyes widened, and they were turning their heads from side to side to see where these sounds were coming from. You can really feel its visceral power with every note.”
The organ “is huge, but also very intimate,” Ball said.
Named for its original benefactor, the Hazel Wright organ was heard by millions worldwide during the heyday of what was then known as the Crystal Cathedral, founded by the televangelist, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who hosted the weekly Christian TV program, “Hour of Power.” The Garden Grove church is a local landmark and tourist attraction, with its majestic spire visible from some of the freeways that crisscross the county.
After Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy, the organ was acquired along with the building in 2011 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which later launched a $72 million renovation of the sanctuary that was completed in 2019.
Resuscitating the organ was a top priority, regardless of cost, said the Very Rev. Christopher Smith, rector of Christ Cathedral. While $3 million may seem like a hefty price, he said it would cost five times that or more for a brand-new organ of comparable scope.
“It is an iconic instrument with a tremendous history and heritage,” Smith said. “It also represents an ancient craft, and we felt bringing it to the 21st century is significant. To me the pipe organ is just like our church where so many diverse people come together in harmony, just as so many diverse sounds in an organ converge to make this beautiful music.”
The organ was crafted in the late 1970s under the supervision of master organist Virgil Fox and dedicated in 1982. The Fratelli Ruffatti — or Ruffatti brothers — a multigenerational company of specialists in Padua, Italy, grafted an Aeolian-Skinner organ purchased from New York City’s Philharmonic Hall with one made by Fratelli Ruffatti in 1977, to create the Hazel Wright organ.
Its rehabilitation has been arduous.
