SUNDAY 9/29: Pipe Organ Concert Series Resumes at Historic Hungars Church
Hungars Episcopal Church on Virginia’s Eastern Shore brings rich musical traditions back to the community with a 969-pipe organ that fills the historic church. The church, located at 10107 Bayside Road in Machipongo, a few miles north of Eastville, invites the public to four organ concerts that completeits 2013 schedule. Admission is free.
New organ console at Hungars Episcopal Church.
Hungars Episcopal Church’s history dates back to 1623 making it the third oldest church congregation in America. During the hardest years of economic decline on the Eastern Shore, parishioners melted down parts of its organ for fishing weights after the Revolutionary War, when the parish stood empty because of the disestablishment of the Anglican religion in Virginia. There have been numerous replacements but no pipe organ until this year after an ailing 25-year-old electronic instrument failed.
The 100-member congregation joined together to find the resources to build a proper organ that complemented the colonial architecture. They turned to the Holtkamp Organ Company, one of America’s oldest and most respected pipe organ builders. The company traces its lineage to 1855 with generations of organ builders.
The new custom-built grand pipe organ that dominates the gallery was designed with 13 stops to accommodate the intricacies of the music in the Episcopal liturgy. The result is a sound with warmth and clarity that made its debut in March 2013.
The 2013 Organ Concert Series started with performances in May and June. The remainder of the schedule starts again in September and will include monthly concerts through the end of the year.
September 29, 4 p.m. — Stefan Dulcie, Hungars Church and Christ Church Music Director, organist, with Andrew Muender, pianist
October 20, 4 p.m. — Timothy J. Brumfield, Director of Music at Christ Church, Riverdale, New York, organist and member of the Grammy Award winning Paul Winter jazz consort
November 10, 4 p.m. — Elizabeth Melcher Davis, DMA, Holy Trinity Church, Richmond, Virginia, organist
December 15, 4 p.m. — Special Christmas Concert Since the assignment of the first minister in 1623, there have been three church buildings known as Hungars Church. The first of these three was built around 1646 and was known first as Nusswattocks Church. By 1679, the original church was no longer usable, so the Hungars Church wardens contracted with Symon Thomas to build a new church using materials from the old one. The cost was 10,000 pounds of tobacco and casks. The acre of land was given by Major William Spencer, and it is the site of the present church. The exact date of the third building is unknown, but records indicate that it was built in the 1740s and was the second largest in Virginia. Its dimensions were 90 feet by 40 feet with two-foot thick walls.
After the Revolutionary War, the church was unused for nearly 40 years and was stripped of its colonial furnishings. It was repaired in 1819 and used again until 1850, when it was declared unsafe for use. A contractor from Snow Hill, MD, Thomas Stevenson, salvaged the building by shortening it and closing the side doors, replacing them with two new doors in the west wall.
The present interior was completed in 1892 by adding a gallery and stove flues and enclosing the north vesting room. The oak floor was laid in 1922. In 1950, lighting and central heat were added, the south vesting room enclosed, and a brick floor was laid in the vestibule. Recent improvements include air conditioning added in 1985, a brick walkway to the parish house and a memorial pulpit completed in 1991. Repainting and wood work restoration was done in 1992. For more information, visit http://hungarscureparish.
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