Stanford Memorial Church

View of the west facade, night shot

The Stanford Memorial Church (nicknamed MemChu ) is located on the campus of Stanford University in California . The church, built in the style of the American Renaissance , was commissioned by Jane Stanford as a memorial to her husband Leland Stanford . The architect Charles A. Coolidge, a protégé of Henry Hobson Richardson , was responsible for the design.

Building

Layout

The first drafts were submitted in 1898, and the church was consecrated in 1903. The building has Romanesque and Byzantine features, inspired by churches in the region around Venice , especially in Ravenna . The painted glass windows and mosaics were based on religious paintings that the Stanfords had admired in Europe.

There are five organs in the church, which gives the musicians a wide range of musical options. Stanford Memorial Church survived two major earthquakes, 1906 and 1989 , as a result of which it underwent extensive renovations.

Stanford Memorial Church was the first church on the American west coast that was not built by a specific denomination.

Furnishing

View of the organ

The main organ was built by the organ builder CB Fisk as Opus 85. The organ work is arranged in the style of Renaissance and Baroque instruments. The housing was made of poplar. A special feature of the organ is that each octave has 17 tones. In this way, you can choose to play in a medium or well-tempered mood . The seven tones of the natural scale are identical in both tuning systems. They are supplemented by five tones for the upper keys with a medium tone and five tones for the upper keys with a good temperament, each with its own action . The instrument has 61 stops (including transmissions and extensions) on four manuals and pedal .

I Rückpositiv C – f 3 Prestant 8th' Dumped 8th' Quintadena 8th' Octava 4 ′ Reed flute 4 ′ Quinta 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ Super Octava 2 ′ Mixture V-IX Dulcian 16 ′ Cromorne 8th' Upright shelf 8th'

II Hauptwerk C – f 3 Prestant 16 ′ Quintadehn 16 ′ Octava 8th' Capstan whistle 8th' Violon 8th' Quinta 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′ Octava 4 ′ Super Octava 2 ′ Quinta 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ Cornet III Mixture VIII-XIV Drummed 16 ′ Drummed 8th' Trumpets 8th' Clairon II 4 ′

III Pages C – f 3 Principal 8th' Schwiegel 8th' Pipe flute 8th' Wood octava 4 ′ Duplicate 2 ′ Cornet III Sif flute 1' Mixture IV Vox humana 8th'

IV breast positive C – c 3 Dumped 8th' Quintadehn 4 ′ Forest flute 2 ′ Double Cimbel II shelf 8th' Schalmey 4 ′ Chest pedal C– Virgins shelf 4 ′ Cornett 2 ′ Peasant flute 1'

Pedal C- Contra Bourdon 32 ′ Sub bass 16 ′ Prestant 16 ′ Quintadehn 16 ′ Octava 8th' Capstan whistle 8th' Violon 8th' Quinta 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′ Octava 4 ′ Super Octava 2 ′ Contraposaune 32 ′ trombone 16 ′ Trumpet 8th' Drummed 8th' Trumpets 8th' Clairon II 4 ′

literature

• Davis, Erik; Rauner, Michael: The visionary state: A journey through California's spiritual landscape . San Francisco, Calif .: Chronicle Books 2006. ISBN 0-8118-4835-3
• Gregg, Robert C., Karen Bartholowmew, & Lesley Bone: Stanford Memorial Church: Glory of angels. Stanford: Stanford Alumni Association 1995. ISBN 0-9163-1854-0
• Hall, Willis Lincoln: Stanford Memorial Church: The mosaics, the windows, the inscriptions . Palo Alto: Times Publishing Co. 1917
• Harvey, Van: Religious studies at Stanford: An historical sketch . In Sandstone & Tile, (PDF; 2.3 MB) 22, Nos. 2 and 3, 1998, pp. 3-10.
• Joncas, Richard, David J. Neuman, Paul V. Turner: Stanford University . New York: Princeton Architectural Press 2006. ISBN 1-5689-8538-X

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information about the organ on the site of the organ builder

Web links

Commons : Stanford Memorial Church  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• University's Office for Religious Life
• Historic American Buildings Survey

Coordinates: 37 ° 25 ′ 37.2 "  N , 122 ° 10 ′ 13.2"  W.