Masonic organ at the West Toronto Masonic Temple on Annette Street, Toronto, ON
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Traveller 32: Organs and Arson
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Some visits yield two stories worth telling, like a recent one to the West Toronto Masonic Temple. It led to a longer-than usual column, but I have two tales to tell.
The first was about a treasure. Some buildings boast unique architecture, antiquity, fine art, or even roots in local history. The Annette Street temple has all of these, and one thing more. It has the last pipe organ in a Masonic Lodge in Toronto and probably one of the last in Ontario.
ITS ORIGINS
The instrument was built in the early 1900’s, an age of elegance when pipe organs graced salons in stately homes, like Lady Eaton’s mansion, or "Dunvegan", Sir Sandford Fleming’s manor, or Sir Henry Pellat’s Casa Loma. The builder, Leonard Morel, learned his trade from Casavant Freres in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, and plied his skills in Toronto.
Those were the days when people caught the train at Toronto Junction for a trip to Toronto. From Morel’s shop on Vine Street came the organs for St. James-Bond United Church and the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall and churches throughout Canada. The smaller ones, if a pipe organ can be "small", went to big homes, small churches and one particular Masonic lodge.
The Junction was kind of a music capital of Canada. Organs came from Morel and pianos (uprights, grands, baby grands, and players with paper rolls) came from Heintzman’s, two blocks away. The pianos are still making music in homes and church halls but the organs, because of the
expense or maintenance, have fallen silent. All but a few. When Morel installed his two manual with pedal and 12 stops in the West Toronto Masonic Temple, he would walk the few blocks to do the work.
PIPES AND WIND
Before electricity, the organs had to be pumped by hand to get enough air for the music. Consider the volume of air required for the 675 pipes in this particular model. The longer ones range up to eight feet in length and rumble as low as three octaves below middle C. The small ones are the size of a whistle. Morel led the industry in electric blowers and other manufacturers bought his machinery. But with the Great Depression, grand mansions and home organs became things of the past. The business failed.
RECOGNITION AND GENEROSITY
All organs have majesty and power. But only the big pipes can make your chest rumble with their vibrations. Electronic keyboards and speakers have replaced (but not surpassed) the glory of pure air-driven sound. The "Old Lady", of course, needs more upkeep than when she was young.
The acoustics of the temple are great. A whisper from any corner carries through the entire lodge room. The sound from the organ loft rolls across the vaulted ceiling and tumbles down to the audience. Could a few sticking keys and aging valves silence this voice from the past? One answer was an organ recital to show off the asset. Eight lodges from three districts meet in the West Toronto Masonic Temple. Their members, family, and friends attended an emergent night in March that opened the lodge room to the community. The purpose was to start a fund to restore the Morel.
Talent and generosity are available within The Craft. Ashley Tidy, a past Grand Lodge organist, recruited three others with similar collars and jewels for the March performance, Murray Black, Frank Cammisuli, and Lloyd Oakes. In addition, a newly made fellowcraft, Paul Tuz of University Lodge, was Patron of a champagne reception as Consul General of the Republic of Mali.
The evening had the marks of an open house, a music recital, a family gathering, a friend-to-friend night, and a fund raiser. The organists, in presenting everything from Bach to Broadway, from sacred to singalong, demonstrated why the organ has to be restored.
The lodge room itself is impressive and well worth the visit. Listen to the music and you will understand the pride the eight lodges and one chapter have in the Morel, their heritage organ.
Masonry in West Toronto started with Stanley Lodge number 426 in 1890. Shekinah Chapter followed in 1904, and Victoria Lodge number 474 in 1905. The three built the West Toronto Masonic Temple. Others that originated in or moved to the temple are University 496, General
Mercer 548, Kilwinning, King Hiram 566, Fidelity 575, Runnymede 619, and Prince of Wales 630. All welcome visitors.
