The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | Page 2

of Swell by
Keys--Swell Boxes--the Sound Trap Joint--Vacuum Swell Shutters
CHAPTER VIII
A Revolution in Wind Supply--Springs vs. Weights--Individual
Pallets--Heavy Wind Pressures--Mechanical Blowers
CHAPTER IX
Transference of Stops--Double Touch--Pizzicato Touch--the Unit
Organ--Sympathy
CHAPTER X
Production of Organ Tone--Acoustics of Organ Pipes--Estey Open
Bass Pipes--Diapasons--Flutes--Strings--Reeds--Vowel
Cavities--Undulating Stops (Celestes)--Percussion Stops--the Diaphone
CHAPTER XI
Tuning--Equal Temperament--New Method of Tuning Reeds
CHAPTER XII
Progress of the Revolution in Our Own Country

CHAPTER XIII
Chief Actors--Barker--Cavaillé-Coll--Willis--Hope-Jones
CHAPTER XIV
How We Stand To-day--Automatic Players--Specifications of Notable
Organs: St. George's Hall, Liverpool; Notre Dame, Paris; St. Paul's
Cathedral, London; Westminster Abbey; Balruddery, Scotland;
Worcester Cathedral; Yale University, U. S. A.; St. Paul's Cathedral,
Buffalo; Paris Theatre, Denver; Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New
York; University of Toronto, Canada; City Hall, Portland, Me.;
Liverpool Cathedral, England

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS
The Organ in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, Eng. . . . Frontispiece
Prehistoric Double Flutes The Wind-chest; Front View. The
Wind-chest; Side View. The Pneumatic Lever Nomenclature of Organ
Keyboard Portrait of Moitessier Tubular Pneumatic Action The First
Electric Organ Ever Built The Electro-Pneumatic Lever Valve and
Valve Seat, Hope-Jones Electric Action Portrait of Dr. Péschard
Console, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo Console on Bennett System
Console, Trinity Church, Boston Console, College of City of New
York Principle of the Sound Trap Sound Trap Joint The Vacuum
Shutter Series of Harmonics Estey's Open Bass Pipes Diapason Pipe
with Leathered Lip Haskell's Clarinet without Reed Diagram of Reed
Pipe Vowel Cavities Diaphone in Worcester Cathedral Diaphone in
Aberdeen University Diaphone in St. Patrick's, N. Y. Diaphone in
Auditorium, Ocean Grove, N. J. Diaphone in St. Paul's Cathedral,
Buffalo Diaphone Producing Foundation Tone. New Method of Tuning
Reeds Portrait of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Portrait of Charles Spachman
Barker Portrait of Henry Willis Portrait of Robert Hope-Jones.
Keyboards of Organ, St. George's Hall Keyboards of Organ, Notre
Dame, Paris Keyboards of Organ, Westminster Abbey Organ in
Balruddery Mansion, Dundee, Scotland The Author Playing a

Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra

THE RECENT REVOLUTION IN ORGAN BUILDING
CHAPTER I.
AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING.
"The Organ breathes its deep-voiced solemn notes, The people join and
sing, in pious hymns And psalms devout; harmoniously attun'd, The
Choral voices blend; the long-drawn aisles At every close the ling'ring
strains prolong: And now, of varied tubes and reedy pipes, The skilful
hand a soften'd stop controuls: In sweetest harmony the dulcet strains
steal forth, Now swelling high, and now subdued; afar they float In
lengthened whispers melting into cadenced murmurs, Forming soft
melodious strains, and placid airs, Spreading gently all around, then
soaring up to Heav'n!" --Dryden.
The origin of the pipe organ is lost in the mists of antiquity. Tradition
hath it that there was one in Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem, the sound
of which could be heard at the Mount of Olives. It has the honor of
being the first wind instrument mentioned in the Bible (Genesis iv, 21),
where we are told that "Jubal is the father of all such as handle the harp
and the organ." The Hebrew word here is ugab, which is sometimes
translated in the Septuagint by cithara (the ancient lute), sometimes by
psalm, sometimes by organ. Sir John Stainer ("Dictionary of Musical
Terms," p. 444) says: "It is probable that in its earliest form the ugab
was nothing more than a Pan's-pipes or syrinx, but that it gradually
developed into a more important instrument." The passage, however,
shows that the ugab was known in the time of Moses, who was "learned
in all the learning of the Egyptians."
The flute, a component part of the organ, is one of the most ancient of
musical instruments. We find it pictured on the walls of early Egyptian
tombs, and specimens of it, still in playable condition, have been
unearthed and can be seen in our museums. Some of them were double,

as shown in the illustration. Side by side with these flutes we find the
shepherd's pipe with a reed or strip of cane in the mouthpiece, which
may be found in the Tyrol at the present day. The next step was
probably the bagpipes. Here we find four of these pipes attached to a
bag. The melody or tune is played on one of the pipes furnished with
holes for the purpose, while the other three give a drone, bass. The bag,
being blown up, forms a wind reservoir and the amount of tone can be
regulated by the pressure of the arm. Here we have the precursor of the
organ bellows. Next comes the Irish bagpipes, with a bellows worked
by the arm furnishing the wind to the bag, the reservoir, and producing
a much sweeter tone. This is one line of advance.
[Illustration: Pre-historic Double Flutes. From Assyrian and Egyptian
Tombs]
On the other hand we have the syrinx or Pan's-pipes.