The Organ

The construction of the first All Saints church building began in August 1883. After renting a pipe organ and then purchasing a  reed organ, the Ladies Aid Society was in a position in 1891 to provide funds for the purchase of a larger pipe organ for the  church, which was installed later in the year. 

With the growth of the congregation and expansion of the building, it was decided that a new pipe organ would provide a fitting memorial to members of the congregation who had lost their lives in WWI. It was ordered from Casavant Frères of Québec to be  delivered in July 1917 and dedicated on September 16th. The old organ was presented to the congregation of St. Alban's Church.  The builder was S. R. Warren & Son, Toronto; the installation of the instrument  was completed late in November 1891. (See Organ Specifications 1917)

Changes in city planning and a growing congregation called for a new site located just west of the existing church. Excavation  for a new building began in June 1926. The cornerstone of the new English Gothic style church was laid on September 25th, 1926. The Casavant instrument from the old church was reinstalled in the new building and it served the musical needs of the  congregation until it was enlarged to 48 stops and rebuilt in time to be dedicated in March 1959 in connection with the 75th anniversary of the parish.

The current instrument brings together the work of two of the greatest tonal designers of this leading Canadian organ builder, that of Claver Casavant (1917) and Lawrence Phelps (1959). Many Canadian churches in the mid-twentieth century abandoned the fine work which the Casavants had done in their churches in earlier years. All Saints wisely decided to retain quality of pipework, construction, and design over quantity of stops, divisions, and trappings, resulting in the preservation  of one of Canada’s finest examples of the work of Casavant Frères.

Voluntaries, played on the Casavant organ, by Dr. Dietrich Bartel