THE ATLANTIC CITY HIGH SCHOOL ORGAN
Page 13
Previous page
Following-on from Richards' outpourings about the instrument is a section entitled "What the Builder thinks of His Atlantic City Organ", in which Seibert Losh has his say on the subject.
One year was allotted for the construction and the instrument was completely delivered and fully in service one month prior to the date set.
With the co-operation of the architect, the space available was arranged to excellent advantage - the main organ being located in chambers at each side of the stage and shelved upward in their rear portion; so that the material in the front...does not obstruct the tone of the pipes in the rear.
Among the original registers designed for this organ are the Harmonic Tubas, of which the upper notes are four times their natural length and give a power and brilliancy of tone not equaled by any similar register and never before applied in an American organ.
The other chorus reeds of this organ are generally of special scale and treatment, the fiery Great Trumpet and Trombone Chorus being of special slender but heavy resonators, producing a clear characteristic tone of great beauty. The Trombone Chorus in itself is a unique department related in a sense to the Bombarde Organs found in France.
It is intended to represent the effect of the Trombone Chorus on the church steeple of the Moravians at Bethlehem...its assertiveness controlled by a visible swell box of two-inch ornamentally finished oak.
The Bassoon of 8' pitch possesses resonators of special design and shallots also of unique character and produces a new tone of the Oboe family, distinctive and characterful and of valuable coloring qualities especially as associated with the strings.
A Cone Gamba of special design and voicing is the first existing specimen except one, and that was also built at the suggestion of Senator Richards. It is a soft voice of peculiar charm and usefulness.
It is safe to say that the Diapasons...are the most complete in color and power of any organ, the general Diapason group being literally copied from the wide-mouthed famous Schulzes in Tyne Dock and Armley, England, made of heavy metal and voiced on low pressures.
This produces a quality and volume of tone of a free singing nature, giving great power with the most agreeable quality and are entire unlike Diapasons hitherto heard in this country. In addition...all the modern Diapasons are represented with typical example including high pressure, narrow mouthed examples. A distinct novelty is the Horn Diapason, which is of large scale and sharply tapered to a small diameter at the top, giving a peculiar typical horn quality of sound. Another novelty is the Diapason Celeste [Gemshorn Celest?], which we believe to be the first example of this lovely register.
The organ is built principally of hard woods throughout instead of pine. Many of the wood pipes are of a straight grain white mahogany from South America, known as Marupa, and other special woods. The pedal sharps are made of solid ebony, not merely capped as in most organs and the white pedal keys are of boxwood, which is the most dense and durable wood of light color. The ends of the sharps are cut away in a new pattern to give free clearance for pedal accessories.
Very heavy material was used in the pipes throughout and the bells of the Reeds are all heavily loaded with lead composition metal, and this includes the 32' Bombarde usually made entirely of zinc or wood. The zinc employed in the larger pipes is of extra heavy thickness which was rolled special for this organ.
The Grand Mixture is treated as a separate complete organ with its own wind and separate action for each rank of pipes. These ranks are individually playable as required, and the general department of large-scaled full-voiced Diapason ranks is interchangeable between the manual and pedal at both the 8' and 16' pitch - which makes it probably the most useful and elaborate Mixture ever made.
Harmonicization" to use the new word coined by Mr. Audsley, has been exhaustively exploited in the instrument, there being twenty-two specially provided ranks of harmonic reinforcement, beside and extensive development of derived mutations.
Midmer-Losh...built the entire instrument except the free reed Saxophone, Musette, and Kinura, which were voiced by Mr. Anton Gottfried. The other reed pipes and all the flue work were made and voiced in the factory, except part of one Roosevelt rank that was originally placed in the instrument as a study but was retained for sentimental reasons and its beautiful tone quality. Any one is given the privilege of determining for themselves, if possible, by hearing the Stop, just which one is the Roosevelt.
The arrangements for accessibility and convenience for the tuner are exceptional in an instrument of this size, closely arranged in a restricted space. The armatures of all magnets are externally accessible and can be removed without tools of any sort.
The pedal keyboard is a complete unit with the swell pedals and other accessories and is adjustable in height as well as laterally and longitudinally, to the physical structure of the organist. No other builder has employed this method.
The carvings on the console are symbolic. The cartouche on the curve of the console cheeks is the Sassafras Tree, which is the Midmer-Losh symbol, and the eight carved panels on the ends of the console represent the arts and sciences taught in the high school and employed in the construction of the instrument. The carved finiels on the case posts represent the Torch of Knowledge. The Gothic carved details of the Echo Organ cases have the fruitful vine of their motif.
Although it is interesting to read about stops such as the Grand Cornet, etc., they did not, technically, exist at this time, as the (second) contract that authorized their inclusion in the instrument was not signed until October 6, 1924, i.e. some months after the July issue of The American Organist in which they were described! However, it seems that the stops did indeed exist and, therefore, the additional contract must have been partly retrospective, taking into account work already carried out.
Top of page
Next page
Page 1
Copyright 2002 Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society, Inc.
1009 Bay Ridge Avenue, PMB 108 Annapolis, MD 21403 USA
www.acchos.org info@acchos.org
Site design & maintenance by metaglyph
This page by Stephen D. Smith
|