Symphonic organ
UCLA; built by Skinner
in 1930, it is an excellent example of the Symphonic Organ.
The symphonic organ is a
classical orchestral works re-scored for a solo organist, a practice particularly popular before technology allowed orchestras to be widely recorded and broadcast.) These organs are generally concert instruments as opposed to church organs. The symphonic organ has seen a revival in the US, Europe and Japan, particularly since the 1980s.[1][2]
The leading builders of symphonic organs were
1904 St. Louis World's Fair, re-installed in a Philadelphia department store in 1911, and then greatly expanded over two decades. It currently has six manuals, eleven divisions, 464 ranks, and 28,750 pipes, all powered by 36 regulators and fans totaling 173 hp.[6] Other important examples around Philadelphia are the Skinner organ at Girard College Chapel (1931),[7] the Curtis Organ at Irvine Auditorium (University of Pennsylvania, 1926),[8] and the Aeolian Company organ at nearby Longwood Gardens (1929).[9] In New Haven, Connecticut, three organbuilders assembled one of the world's largest and finest symphonic organs for Yale University in Woolsey Hall (Newberry Memorial Organ, 1902/1915/1928).[10]
Another excellent example of a symphonic organ can be seen and heard at the
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.[14]
References
- ^ Whitney, Craig R., All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters, PublicAffairs, 2004.
- ^ Bethards, Jack M., A Brief for the Symphonic Organ, Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies, 2002.
- ^ Sumner, W. L., Father Henry Willis, Organ Builder, and His Successors, Musical Opinion, 1955.
- ^ Gerber, James, Ernest M. Skinner and the American Symphonic Organ, Arizona State University, 2012.
- ^ Douglass, Fenner, Cavaillé-Coll and the French Romantic Tradition, Yale University Press, 1999.
- ^ The Stoplist, Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ^ Ambrosino, Jonathan, The Girard College Recordings: About the Organ and the Chapel, Organ Arts, retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ^ Davis, Heather A., Piping Up for the Curtis Organ, Penn Current, May 13, 2004.
- ^ The Longwood Organ, Longwood Gardens, retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ^ Weiss, Anthony, The Behemoth of Woolsey Hall, Yale Alumni Magazine, July–August 2009.
- ^ Austin Pipe Organ, Chattanooga Music Club, retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ^ Amero, Richard, The Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, San Diego History Center, retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ Parkinson-Tucker, Janice, Behind the Pipes: The Story of the Kotzschmar Organ, Casco House, 2005.
- ^ Cincinnati Museum Center, Organ Historical Society, retrieved January 15, 2019.