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A PROFILE of CHARLES M. RUGGLES, BUILDER of HAND-CRAFTED MECHANICAL ACTION ORGANS by Mark A. Herris Submitted to the Faculty Of

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A PROFILE of CHARLES M. RUGGLES, BUILDER of HAND-CRAFTED MECHANICAL ACTION ORGANS by Mark A. Herris Submitted to the Faculty Of A PROFILE OF CHARLES M. RUGGLES, BUILDER OF HAND-CRAFTED MECHANICAL ACTION ORGANS by Mark A. Herris Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music Indiana University May 2016 Accepted by the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music Doctoral Committee ______________________________________ Janette Fishell, Research Director ______________________________________ Christopher Young, Chair ______________________________________ Eric J. Isaacson ______________________________________ Elisabeth Wright April 6, 2016 ii Copyright © 2016 Mark A. Herris iii Dedicated to Christy, Ryan, and Sam iv Acknowledgements I am thankful for all of the support I have received in completing this project. It has been an honor to work extensively with Charles M. Ruggles over the past several months, and this project would not have been possible without his substantial support and time. I would like to thank my research director, Professor Janette Fishell, for her feedback and direction as this project came to fruition. I cannot thank her enough for challenging me to do my best. I am also indebted to Professors Christopher Young, Eric J. Isaacson, and Elizabeth Wright for graciously agreeing to serve on the committee for this paper. I am grateful for my organ teachers who have helped me get to this point, including Christopher Young, Craig Cramer, Gail Walton, and Jack Vogelgesang. I would like to acknowledge David Kazimir and Bob Finley for their assistance in developing my understanding of organ building. Special thanks goes to Leslie Weaver for her expeditious editing of my paper. Thank you to Bob Thompson, Charles M. Ruggles, and others who provided the photographs for this project. I am also indebted to Rev. Todd Outcalt, Rev. Harold Leininger, Charles Goehring, and members of Calvary United Methodist Church of Brownsburg, Indiana, for their encouragement and prayers. Thank you as well to the numerous churches, including their pastors, music directors, and staff members, for allowing me access to their exquisite organs and facilities. Most of all, I would like to thank my wife, children, and parents for their support and patience as I completed this project. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices .............................................................................................................. x Chapter 1 : Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 : The Organ Reform Movement ......................................................................... 3 Chapter 3 : Charles M. Ruggles: Youth and Education ...................................................... 8 Chapter 4 : Charles M. Ruggles: Apprentice .................................................................... 15 Chapter 5 : Charles M. Ruggles: Organ Builder ............................................................... 24 Chapter 6 : Charles M. Ruggles: Berea, Ohio .................................................................. 33 Chapter 7 : Charles M. Ruggles: Conifer, Colorado ......................................................... 53 Chapter 8 : Charles M. Ruggles: Defining Characteristics ............................................... 63 Chapter 9 : Charles M. Ruggles: Restorations .................................................................. 73 Chapter 10 : Conclusion .................................................................................................... 80 Appendix 1: Organ Specifications .................................................................................... 82 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 123 vi List of Figures Figure 3.1. Ruggles family home Aeolian Organ on the landing between floors. Photograph provided by Charles M. Ruggles. ............................................................ 9 Figure 4.1. Comparison of the Flentrop practice organ at the University of North Texas (left) with Ruggles Opus 1 (right). Flentrop photograph by Gary Gordon. Ruggles photograph by Mark A. Herris. ................................................................................. 17 Figure 5.1. Charles Ruggles and his sister-in-law assembling St. John’s organ on the stairway landing at Dr. Ruggles’s home. The façade pipes of the home’s Aeolian organ can be seen in the background. Photograph provided by Charles M. Ruggles. ................................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 6.1. Ruggles Opus 18 organ at St. Hubert’s Episcopal Chapel. Photograph provided by Charles M. Ruggles. ............................................................................. 41 Figure 6.2. Green dinosaur peeking out of the Ruggles Opus 23 Organ at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. Photograph by Mark A. Herris. ..................... 46 Figure 6.3. The Barbury Castle Triangle crop circle, discovered July 17, 1991 (left). Ruggles Opus 26, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (right). The Barbury Castle Triangle is located in the center shade. Photographs provided by Charles M. Ruggles. .................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 7.1. Ruggles Home and Workshop in Conifer, Colorado. Photograph provided by Charles M. Ruggles. .................................................................................................. 54 Figure 7.2. The crop circle at Milk Hill below Adam’s Grave, Wiltshire, England, June 24, 2003 (left). Ruggles Opus 30, Memorial Chapel of Fairmount Presbyterian vii Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio (right). Photographs provided by Charles M. Ruggles. .................................................................................................................... 59 Figure 8.1. Components within the boot of a Pedal Trumpet 8’ pipe at Calvary United Methodist Church. All of Ruggles’s trumpet stops use a similar design. Photograph provided by Bob Thompson. ..................................................................................... 70 viii List of Tables Table 4.1. Stoplist for Brombaugh Opus 15 Organ, First United Methodist Church, Oberlin, Ohio. ........................................................................................................... 19 Table 4.2. Stoplist for Brombaugh Opus 16 Organ, Grace Episcopal Church, Ellensburg, Washington. .............................................................................................................. 20 Table 5.1. Stoplist for Ruggles Opus 2 Organ, Residence of Dr. Richard L. Ruggles, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. .......................................................................................... 26 Table 5.2. Stoplist for Ruggles Opus 6 Organ, St, John’s Lutheran Church, Highland Heights, Ohio. ........................................................................................................... 29 Table 6.1. Stoplist for Ruggles Opus 9 Organ, Birmingham United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Ohio. ................................................................................................... 34 Table 6.2. Stoplist for Ruggles Opus 23 Organ, St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. ...................................................................................................... 45 Table 6.3. Stoplist for Ruggles Opus 24 Organ, Calvary United Methodist Church, Brownsburg, Indiana. ............................................................................................... 48 Table 9.1. Stoplist for 1898 Pilcher Organ, Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church, Louisville, Ohio, following the 1987 restoration by Charles M. Ruggles. ............... 75 Table 9.2. Stoplist for 1884 Henry Kilgen Organ, St. Augustine’s Cultural Center, Austin, Nevada. ..................................................................................................................... 78 ix List of Appendices Appendix 1: Organ Specifications.....................................................................................82 x 1 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Charles M. Ruggles is a craftsman of mechanical-action pipe organs inspired by North German and Dutch instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries. Over the course of his career he has built 31 instruments, assisted other builders in constructing components for their instruments, and restored 19th century American tracker organs. Ruggles is one of several contemporary builders in the United States and Canada who have studied European Baroque organs in depth and applied that knowledge into the design of their own instruments. His organs are hand-crafted, built to the highest standards using quality materials, and uniquely designed to each client’s needs. He is worthy
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