The Holtkamp Portativ Pipe Organ

at Faith Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, IL

In the 1930's, American organ builder Walter Holtkamp, Sr. experimented with a revolutionary pipe organ design. Holtkamp's vision was to produce an organ for use in smaller church buildings that would give churches that rich, authentic pipe organ sound at a price that could compete with the newly-emerging electric organ. The result was the Portativ, a totally self-contained, single manual, three stop pipe organ. Holtkamp said that the Portativ organ is typical of his urge to natural, functional expression. He contrasted it with "the prevailing market ... for the unit organ with two manuals and pedal but with fewer pipes than the Portativ."

The unique visual design of the Portativ is the product of architect Richard Rychtarik. Besides adapting the pipe organ to the smaller setting, the Portativ incorporates design features that were to become hallmarks of even the largest Holtkamp organs. Two such features are a return to tracker key action, which means that each key on the keyboard is mechanically connected to the mechanism that allows wind to enter the pipe when it is played, and placement of the organ pipes within the space where they will be heard, rather than placement in rooms or chambers adjacent to the church chancel or nave. While these two features of organ building were to become popular in subsequent decades because of performance advantages they provide, the Portativ itself was something of a marketing failure. Only about a dozen were built. Nevertheless, the visual and musical design proved noteworthy enough that Holtkamp Portativ pipe organs stand in the Smithsonian Institution and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Despite the limited popularity of this organ, the Holtkamps apparently never gave up on the Portativ concept. The basic Portativ organ here at Faith Lutheran Church was built by the Holtkamp Organ Company in 1963, under the direction of Walther Holtkamp, Jr., with the wind chest and mechanical action sent to it in 1961 by the Metzler organ company in Switzerland. The original design of the Portativ called for a key register of G to g3 and, as mentioned above, three stops (8' Quintadena [metal], 4' Prestant, and III Cornet). The Portativ at Faith differs from the original design in that ours has a key register of C to g3 and four stops.

This basic organ has been supplemented with a 16' Pommer of 39 notes, playable at the 16' and 8' levels. Greater tonal diversity was obtained by making the top 22 notes Rohrpommers. This addition was built in 1999 by the Holtkamp Organ Company under the guidance of F. Christian Holtkamp, a grandson of Walter Holtkamp, Sr. Chris Holtkamp saw to it that the visual design of the new pipes complemented the design of the existing pipes, that the woods and finishes of the cabinetry were carefully matched, and that the integrity of the original Portativ was not compromised. The pedal pipes have their own windchest and electro-pneumatic key action.

Organ specifications:

Manual
Five ranks of pipes (280 pipes)
8' Gedeckt
4' Principal
2' Principal
II Cymbal
Compass C-g3 - 56 notes
Slider windchest
Tracker key action
Slider stop action (pedal operated)

Pedal
One rank of pipes (39 pipes)
16' Pommer
Compass CC-d - 27 notes
Electro-pneumatic key and stop action (pedal operated)
Playable at 16' and 8'

The first home for the basic Portativ was Ascension Lutheran Church in Northfield, Illinois. Ascension used the instrument until April 1979, when they installed a larger pipe organ in their expanded worship area. Ascension gave this Portativ to Hope Lutheran Church in Long Grove, Illinois, in 1981 when Hope was a new congregation going into its first building. Ascension gave this remarkable little pipe organ to Hope with the understanding that should it some day no longer meet Hope's needs, Hope should, in turn, give it to another Lutheran church. In 1991, Hope moved into a new, larger sanctuary and began making plans to obtain a larger instrument. In July of 1992, Hope gave their Holtkamp Portativ pipe organ to us, again with the understanding that should it some day no longer meet our needs, we would give it to another Lutheran congregation.

Beginning in 1996, our congregation began exploring ways to supplement the basic Portativ. We are quite pleased that the Holtkamp Organ Company took an interest in this project. Not only were we aware of this organ builder's fine reputation, but we were confident that the company would have an interest both in preserving the essence of the Portativ and in integrating the new pipes with the existing ones aurally and visually.

We are enormously grateful to Hope Lutheran Church for the original gift of this fine instrument. In addition, numerous individuals have contributed to getting this pipe organ to Faith. We are grateful for their enthusiasm and assistance. In particular, our thanks go to Dr. Zuiderveld, who first alerted us to the possibility of obtaining the Portativ and subsequently gave large amounts of time and energy to the project of making arrangements to move and install it in 1992. Moreover, Dr. Zuiderveld's expertise was invaluable during the planning stages of the 1999 addition to the organ. Beyond that, several individuals labored to get this pipe organ moved to Faith and placed on the hardwood platform on which it stands. In addition, thanks are due to individuals who made special financial gifts to enhance the organ with the pedal stop.

May God be glorified in our music.