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Mega-Hyper-Ultra Organ...

Corno Dolce

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Aloha Ms. Judy,

Yeah, its got lots of pipe-rank controls. If it had the actual amount of pipes, you'd probably need at least three tuners/regulators to keep it in tune.

Cheerio,

CD :):):)
 
Krummhorn

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
That is one doozy of a console ... one would need 8 foot long arms and 5 assistants to play it. Just imagine the nightmare of wiring that would be required inside the console ... and the technician looking through 15 miles of wiring looking for a short ... carrumba!

Too bad ... or maybe a godsend ... that it is not an operational console. If memory serves correctly, there are no pipes hooked up to it as it "plays" a digital recording through a couple speakers.
 
marval

marval

New member
Hi CD

Now that is one organ that takes up a lot of space.

Any idea where it is?


Margaret
 
Contratrombone64

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Krummhorn said:
That is one doozy of a console ... one would need 8 foot long arms and 5 assistants to play it. Just imagine the nightmare of wiring that would be required inside the console ... and the technician looking through 15 miles of wiring looking for a short ... carrumba!

Too bad ... or maybe a godsend ... that it is not an operational console. If memory serves correctly, there are no pipes hooked up to it as it "plays" a digital recording through a couple speakers.
Click to expand...

I always think Octopuses would make Excellent organists LOL
 
Fretless

Fretless

Member
robmcw said:
This non-functioning console is located in Wisconsin.
Click to expand...

Heh, when I saw the picture it reminded me of when I went to The House on the Rock in Wisconsin and they had a whole room full of pipe organ consoles--same place? It's been 24 years since I saw that room, but I still remember it. My dad got a big kick out of it, being an organist himself.
 

dll927

New member
I've seen pictures of that one before.

Having lived for 39 years in the Los Angeles area (I no longer do), I can assure you there are some "monsters" around there. As most of you are probably aware, First Congregational now claims to have the largest church organ in the world. Around the late '60s, after their Schlicker organ was put up in the west balcony, I had season tickets for their concert series. It shook the place then, and that was before they emptied out the seats in the crossing balconies and filled those up with pipes, too. That church is also something of an architectural jewel, at least for L.A. Visit www.fccla.org. or put the church name into Flickr.

A bit to the south, Crystal Cathedral is about next in line, although they claim the acoustics in the place are for the birds. I've only been there once, and they were having a wedding, so they shooed everybody else out. After that, when the bridal party came down the aisle, the organist went on one of those suspended reed contraptions, and you could hear it clear outside!! (It's glass, remember!!)

A few other notables: Wilshire Methodist, Lake Avenue Congregational in Pasadena, First Presbyterian in Pasadena, and I understand the one in the new Disney concert hall is quite a shaker, even with its "crooked" 32's. And the list goes on. BTW, I understand that First Congregational now has a 64 footer, but I don't know if it's the real size or not.
 
Corno Dolce

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Aloha dll927,

FCCLA has a Gravissima 64' which draw a 32' plus and probably plays the fifth above ergo, 21-1/3 on a neighboring rank. They have a Diapason 32 and a Bourdon 32 in the pedal. So the Daipason 32' is drawn and then the Bourdon 32 gets *keyed* for the 21-1/3' quint which will result in a 64' sound formant.

Cheerio,

CD :):):)
 
Contratrombone64

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
dll927 said:
Having lived for 39 years in the Los Angeles area (I n longer do), I can assure you there are some "monsters" around there.
Click to expand...

Hi there

I have a lovely CD at home called historic organs from San Francisco. Not all enormous monsters are necessarily good organs...
 

dll927

New member
In fact, sometimes I wonder when they become overkill. There are only so many formations pipes can take, so there has to be a lot of duplication in the various divisions. First Cong. now has surround sound, but how much can you put on at one time without needing ear plugs? And I would tend to agree that this 'contest" for the largest organ probably is overdone.

That church has something of a checkered history. When Dr. Fifield was pastor (32 years), it was known as a citadel of conservatism. But since his demise there has been a parade of senior pastors. And I see they now have another new one. They just went something like a couple of years without a permanent one. And 'permanent' doesn't seem to mean much around there any more. Maybe they are too fussy!! As for organists, after Lloyd Holzgraf retired, Fred Swann was there for 3-4 years (after the Crystal Cathedral), and they have been through two or three since then.

A perusal of a lot of Cavaille-Coll organs will show similar-named ranks in different divisions - and a lot of rather sparse pedal divisions. So it can leave the question of how much you can put into one building and still make sense.
 

dll927

New member
One further note: I just recently became aware that, in some burg named Hurricane, West Virginia, there is a Methodist church with a SIX MANUAL mostly digital creation. You can see pictures of the console on a site r.a. colby. It gives Wanamaker a run for its money. Which raises the question, what physical proportions does one need to play (reach) such a contraption?
 
Corno Dolce

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Aloha dll927,

If anything, Cavaille-Coll was mathematically precise in physically and acoustically *engineering* his organ oeuvre based on what kind of budget he was given. What may have looked sparse on paper stoplist in the pedal department, was enough to *carry* the manual divisions. Cavaille-Coll was also an artisan with enough integrity to give similar-named stops in the different divisions subtle voicing characteristics. C-C never jam-packed his oeuvre with tons of stops like we see in many American instruments. His oeuvre were very well-balanced creations.

In re to the 6-manual beast in Hurricane, WV - I have personally heard it live - in no way does it give the Wanamaker a run for the money. The Wanamaker is a triumph of organ building on a massive *Symphonic-Orchestral* scale that defies one's imagination. To stand on the main floor in the great space and listen to the billowing cascades of sound that pour down on one like the Niagara Falls just dazzles the mind.

In re to physical proportions of the Walker instrument in Hurricane, WV - an average sized human being can handle playing it. A long-time lady organist on the Wanamaker magic machine, was quite petite but was able to navigate with relative ease the huge console.

Cheerio,

CD :):):)
 

dll927

New member
I really enjoy these back & forth messages.

Your points are very well taken. As for pedal divisions, the C-C organs had "tirasses" a.k.a. manual-to-pedal couplers that could filll in when needed. And of course, being mechanical, all the appropriate manual keys danced around, too.

It's really something of a shame that so many of his organs have been "modernized". True, nothing lasts forever, but the St. Sulpice one is now something over 140 years old, and I've seen enough tapes of Roth playing it to see that it still works quite decently - if one can get used to that type of organ. He's been doing it a while.

Something about that organ I find rather interesting: The first manual is called a "grand chorus" and is actually a part of the "Grand Orgue" division, but it also serves as a coupler manual for everything else. Roth seems to play on that manual most of the time, and all the other manuals are coupled to it when he wants to elevate the rafters a bit. If I were ever to find myself in Paris, you can bet that a visit to that church would be a top priority.

Regarding peoples' size, supposedly the organ at the "mother" Christian Science church in Boston is a four-manual because the lady who was organist at the time didn't think she could reach a fifth one. In this country, consoles are pretty much standardized, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Then there's the matter of music racks. Just bring binoculars. My glasses are trifocals, so I would probably need a separate pair to deal with a rack that high up.
 
Corno Dolce

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Aloha dll927,

I enjoy sharing what little I know. C-C has figured very much into my understanding of instrument design and construction. The instruments of E.M. Skinner also have contributed as have the instruments of Johannes Klais, to my working knowledge. I must also mention Henry Willis and his triumphal oeuvre that resides in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. The contemporary American builders I find very interesting are Schoenstein, Fisk, Lively-Fulcher, and Petty-Madden.

Cheerio,

CD :):):)
 
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