The American Pipe Organ

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The American Pipe Organ
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Definitions

• Manual
• A keyboard played by the hands.  All instruments
  also have a pedalboard, which is the keyboard
  played by the feet.
• Rank
• A set of pipes of a particular tone color
  (timbre), one for each note of the keyboard. 
• Stop
• A knob or tab on the organ console that turns on
  a set of pipes.
• Register (Independent Stop)
• An independent speaking stop that has its own
  pipes that are not "borrowed" from any other
  stops.
• Borrowed Stop
• A stop that does not have its own pipes, but
  rather reuses pipes from an independent stop
  (register).
• Total Stops
• The total number of speaking stops on the organ,
  whether independent or borrowed.

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The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia,
Spring, 1876

• In 1876 Philadelphia held the national Centennial
  Exposition.
• Patrick Gilmore's Band was hired for sixty
  performances.
• Jacques Offenbach, the celebrated composer of
  comic operas, was also hired for a series of
  performances.
• One of the musicians hired by Offenbach to play
  first violin was John Philip Sousa.

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Music

• Music was heard in the exhibition halls, along
  the garden walkways, in restaurants - there were
  concerts, choirs, organ recitals, chimes,
  minstrel shows, and musical instrument
  demonstrations

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Opening Day Ceremonies

• After Hail to the Chief upon the entrance of
  President and Mrs. Grant, the orchestra under the
  direction of Theodore Thomas, began the inaugural
  performance of the Centennial March by Richard
  Wagner, a piece commissioned by the Women's
  Centennial Committee.
• Although Wagner had stated that he was moved by
  "the inspiration of the beautiful ladies of
  America," even he admitted in private that the
  best thing about the piece was his 5,000
  commission.
• Prayers and benedictions followed, then a cantata
  by Sidney Lanier, Centennial Meditation of
  Columbia and a hymn by John Greenleaf Whittier.
• Speeches by President Grant and other dignitaries
  followed, and then a rendition of Handel's
  Hallelujah Chorus accompanied by the Centennial
  Chimes, church bells, factory whistles, and a
  100-gun salvo

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The Music

• The main source of music during the Centennial
  was the Music Pavilion
• There were two immense organs, the Centennial
  Organ by Hook and Hastings of Boston, and the
  Roosevelt Organ by Hilborne L. Roosevelt of New
  York, which had a special "electric echo" effect.
  
• A second Music Pavilion was located outdoors in
  Lansdowne Valley between Memorial Hall and
  Horticultural Hall.

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Machinery Hall

• Home to the Centennial Chimes, 13 chimes
  representing the 13 original colonies
• These were played three times daily by a
  professor Widdows of Washington, D.C.
• There were daily concerts arranged by
  manufacturers of musical instruments.
• Visitors flocked to hear the Steinway Centennial
  Concert Grand Piano.
• A series of concerts was arranged by the Women's
  Committee at the Edwin Forrest estate.
• The Great American Restaurant offered a beer
  garden with concert music, and the Restaurant of
  the South featured an "Old Time Darky Band."
• Additionally, every state day and every special
  event was the occasion for more concerts,
  marching bands, and choruses.

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The Centennial Organ

• Built in 1876 by Hook and Hastings, Boston, for
  the great Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
  This was one of two large instruments in the
  hall
• Used for 1000 recitals by leading organists of
  the day
• After the Exposition the instrument was sold to
  and installed in St. Josephs Old Cathedral in
  Buffalo, New York

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Hook and Hastings

• The Exposition closed in November, 1876 and St.
  Josephs Cathedral bought the instrument and
  installed it in 1877
• The original playing action was replaced in
  1925 but the remainder was left intact
• The instrument was restored in 1975-76
• A second restoration took place in 1999-2001 by
  the Andover Organ Company of Lawrence,
  Massachusetts

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List of Stops

• GREAT
• 16' Open Diapason Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Open Diapason Old 61 Pipes
• 8' 2nd Open Diapason from 16' O.D. 12 Pipes
• 8' Doppel Flöte Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Gamba Old 61 Pipes
• 6' Quinte Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Octave Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Flute Harmonique Old 61 Pipes
• 3' Twelfth Old 61 Pipes
• 2' Fifteenth Old 61 Pipes
• III-IV Cornet Old 232 Pipes
• IV Mixture Old 244 Pipes
• V Cymbale New 305 Pipes
• 16' Trumpet Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Trumpet Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Clarion Old 61 Pipes
• Blank Knob

• SWELL
• 16' Bourdon Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Open Diapason Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Viola Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Voix Céleste Old Pipes Tellers 49 Pipes
• 8' Stopped Diapason Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Quintadena Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Octave "Old EGG HH, Op.869" 61 Pipes
• 4' Violina Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Flauto Traverso Old 61 Pipes
• 2 2/3' Cornet Nazard Old from Cornet 61 Pipes
• 2' Flautino Old from Cornet 61 Pipes
• 1 3/5' Cornet Tierce "Old Pipes Hook, Op. 869
  " 61 Pipes
• IV Mixture New 244 Pipes
• 16' Contra Fagotto "From Oboe, New Bass " 12
  Pipes
• 8' Cornopean Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Oboe Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Vox Humana Old 61 Pipes
• Tremolo

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List of Stops

• SOLO
• 8' Stentorphon "Old, New or old trebles " 61
  Pipes
• 8' Tuba Mirabilis Old 61 Pipes
• V Grand Cornet T.C. "8' fr. Opus 501, 4' fr. Sw.
  "
• "Cornet, 2 2/3',2',1 3/5' New" 245 Pipes
• Blank Knob
• Solo to Solo 16'
• Solo to Solo 4'
• Solo Unison Off
• CELESTIAL
• 16' Gemshorn "Old , treb fr.Estey 4079" 61 Pipes
• 8' Philomela New 61 Pipes
• 8' Gemshorn from 16' Gemshorn 12 Pipes
• 8' Dolcan Gamba Old Pipes Hutchings 61 Pipes
• 8' Gamba Céleste Old Pipes Hutchings 49 Pipes
• 8' Spitzflöte New 61 Pipes
• 8' Spitzflöte Céleste New 49 Pipes
• 4' Hohlpfeife "Old Pipes Hook, Opus 355" 61 Pipes
• 2' Harmonic Piccolo Hutchings. Votey fr.
  Chicago 61 Pipes

• CHOIR
• 16' Lieblich Gedeckt Old Pipes Estey Op. 3079 61
  Pipes
• 8' Geigen Principal Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Dulciana Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Melodia Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Rohr Flöte Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Octave Op 501 Hook Geig. Prin. 61 Pipes
• 4' Fugara Old 61 Pipes
• 4' Flute d'Amour Old 61 Pipes
• 2 2/3' Quint Flöte New 61 Pipes
• 2' Piccolo Old 61 Pipes
• 1 3/5' Tierce New 61 Pipes
• 1 1/3' Octave Quint New 61 Pipes
• III Mixture New 183 Pipes
• 8' Trumpet "Old Pipes, Estey Op.3079 " 61 Pipes
• 8' Clarinet Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Vox Angelica Old 61 Pipes
• 8' Cromorne New 61 Pipes

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List of Stops

• Celestial Bells
• Harp
• Celestial to Celestial 16'
• Celestial to Celestial 4'
• Celestial Unison Off
• PEDAL
• 32' Bourdon Old 32 Pipes
• 16' Open Diapason Old 32 Pipes
• 16' Violone Old 32 Pipes
• 16' Dulciana Great 16' OD. 32 Notes
• 16' Gemshorn From Celestial 32 Notes
• 16' Bourdon From 32' Bdn. 12 Pipes
• 16' Lieblich Gedeckt From Choir 32 Notes
• 12' Quinte From 32' 7 Pipes

• 8' Octave From 16' OD. 12 Pipes
• 8' Bell Gamba Old 32 Pipes
• 8' Violoncello From Violone 12 Pipes
• 8' Gemshorn From Celestial 32 Notes
• 8' Gedeckt From Choir Lieblich 32 Notes
• 5 1/3' Octave Quinte Old Pipes 32 Pipes
• 4' Principal Old Pipes 32 Pipes
• 4' Super Octave From Bell Gamba 12 Pipes
• IV Mixture 5 1/3' Quint Old Pipes
• fr.Estey 3079 68 Pipes
• V Gross Harmonics Old Pipes 96 Pipes
• 32' Contra Bombarde "New, Ext. Trombone " 12
  Pipes
• 16' Trombone Old 32 Pipes
• 16' Bassoon From Sw. Oboe 32 Notes
• 8' Trumpet From Trombone 12 Pipes
• 8' Posaune Old Pipes 32 Pipes
• 8' Oboe From Sw. 32 Notes
• 4' Clarion From Posaune 12 Pipes

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W. Eugene Thayer (1838-1889)

• Born in Mendon, Massachusetts, December 11, 1838
• Began the study of the organ at the age of
  fourteen, and soon gained a reputation as an
  excellent organist
• 1865-66 he studied in Europe under Carl Haupt
• Opened a studio in Boston in 1875
• Published a 5-volume course, The Art of Organ
  Playing
• The Variations on the Russian National Hymn, Op.
  12, opens the study

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Variations on the Russian National Hymn

• Russian National Hymn, God Preserve the Tsar
  was composed by Alexis Lvov in 1833 and served,
  until the revolution, as the Russian national
  anthem (it was also used in Tchaikovskys 1812
  Overture
• Thayer composed five variations on the theme

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Thayer Variations on the Russian National Hymn,
Op. 12

• Theme
• Variation 1 for organ tone
• Variation 2 for strings and flutes
• Variation 3 introduces the oboe solo stop
• Variation 4 soft strings and flutes
• Variation 5 for full organ featuring the pedals

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THE Theater Organ
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Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra

• The theater organ was invented around 1900 by
  Robert Hope-Jones
• The theater organ is a collection of colorful,
  distinctive, and powerful voices
• It was developed to replace the symphony
  orchestra used to accompany silent films
• The Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra

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The Wurlitzer Theater Organ

• Rudolph Wurlitzer bought the Hope-Jones patents
  in 1910
• The era of theater organsbegan around 1910
• By 1927 there were 63 firms building organs and
  produced about 2500 instruments
• Sound movies were introduced in 1929 (The Jazz
  Singer) signaling the end of the theater organ era

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Phantom of the Opera (1925)

• 1925 starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin
• The re-release of the film in 1929 with talking
  sequences foretold the end of the theater
  organ as the
  voice of the silent films

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Wurlitzer

• In 1942 the War Production Board ordered the
  organ industry to convert to defense work and
  organ factories produced glider parts, various
  metal work, and coffins
• Wurlitzer stopped making organs in 1943

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Four of the Worlds Largest Pipe Organs are in
the United States

• Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia
• Murry M. Harris, 1904, 28,482 pipes
• Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
• Midmer-Losh Op. 5550, 1929, 33,114 pipesMuch of
  it does not work
• First Congregational Church, Los Angeles,
  California
• E. M. Skinner Opus 856, 1931, over 20,000
  pipesThis is the largest church organ
• USMA Cadet Chapel, West Point, New York
• M. P. Mohler, 1911, 20,142 pipes

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Wanamaker Organ

• Located in Lord and Taylor Department Store,
  Philadelphia
• 6 manuals, 461 ranks, 396 registers, 28,482 pipes

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Wanamaker

• In 1911 the largest organ in the world (from the
  St. Louis World's Fair in 1904) was inaugurated
  in the Grand Court. The building was dedicated on
  December 30 by President William H.
  Taft
• In 1980 The Wanamaker Organ becomes the first
  pipe organ to be designated a National Historic
  Landmark
• Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition - The Great
  Gate of Kiev

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Convention Hall

• 7 manuals 449 ranks 337 registers 852 stops
  33,114 pipes
• The Sounds
• Toccata in d minor (Bach)

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First Congregational Church

• First Congregational Church
• 5 manuals 346 ranks 233 registers 265 stops
  over 20,000 pipes

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USMA Cadet Chapel

• 4 manuals 325 ranks 576 stops 20,142
  pipes
• The Sounds Veni Creator

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Virgil Fox and the Fratelli Ruffatti pipe organ
(built in 1976)

• In 1977 Virgil Fox began recording on digital
  tape
• These recordings were the first digital
  recordings made in the United States
• These recordings were made using the 1976
  Fratelli Ruffatti instrument installed in the
  Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California
• Virgil Fox died of cancer 3 years after these
  recording sessions
• Fox appeared at VT in the 1970s performing on
  aRodgers Touring Organ calledThe Black Beauty
• Widor Toccata from the Sixth Symphony
• Charles-Marie Widor (France, 1844-1937)