Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ
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The Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ is the pipe organ in the Main Auditorium of the Boardwalk Hall (formerly known as the Atlantic City Convention Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, built by the Midmer-Losh Organ Company. As it is located in the Main Auditorium, it is usually called the "Main Auditorium Organ".
The Main Auditorium Organ is a theatre organ and has to fill the Main Auditorium, larger than 15 million cubic feet, and therefore it requires high volume, achieved through high wind pressure. Entire divisions stand on 20 - 35" of wind pressure, which in itself is already more than 6 - 10 times the normal pressure for an organ stop. The organ has four entries in The Guinness Book of World Records, and holds several records in the organ world.
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[edit] Construction and layout
Construction of the organ took place between May, 1929 and December, 1932. The organ was designed by state senator Emerson L. Richards, and was built by the Midmer-Losh Organ Company of Merrick, New York. Most of the pipes were built by Midmer-Losh, some special reed stops (e.g. Brass Trumpet, Egyptian Horn, Euphone, Musette Mirabilis) were made by Anton Gottfried. The German firm of Welte provided the Bassoon with papier-mâché resonators[1] and wooden Tuba d'Amour for the Echo division.
The organ is built around the Main Auditorium of the Boardwalk Hall. The organs divisions are divided across 8 organ chambers, as follows:
| Left Stage Pedal Left, Unenclosed Choir Swell, String I Swell-Choir |
Stage | Right Stage Pedal Right, Great, Solo Great-Solo (Flutes) Great-Solo (Reeds) |
||
| Left Forward Choir Percussion |
Right Forward Brass Chorus String II |
|||
| Left Center Gallery III (Diaph's) Gallery II (Orch) |
Left Upper Fanfare String III |
The Upper chambers are located above the Center chambers | Right Upper Echo |
Right Center Gallery I (Reeds) Gallery II (Flutes) |
The current lay-out of the organ was Emerson Richards' third design. The first design was to house 43,000 pipes in six chambers (All mentioned above without the Upper chambers), but there just wasn't enough space to house all the pipes. The numbers of pipes was then reduced to 29,000. Later, when the Upper Chambers were built, some stops from the original plan were reinstated, raising the numbers of pipes to the present official number of 33,114 (see also below).
[edit] Records
The organ has been recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest musical instrument, the loudest musical instrument and the largest pipe organ ever constructed, although some debate still exists about the latter (see "Largest organ debate" below).
Officially, the organ has 33,114 pipes, but the exact number of pipes is unknown. Even though the organ has had many inspections over the years, including a recent restoration estimate, the pipes have never been counted. Experts believe the actual number of pipes is closer to 32,000, based on facts such as the Major Posaune containing only 44 pipes instead of the planned 85, and some duplicate percussions not being installed. However, claims that entire stops were omitted have not been proven. It is very hard to determine exactly how many pipes the organ has, also due to the condition the organ is in (see "Current State" below).
The organ is the only in the world to have stops standing on 100" wind pressure, and one of three organs in the world with stops on 50" windpressure. 100" wind pressure (equivalent to 3.56 PSI or 0.25 bars) is about 30 times more than a normal organ stop (even high-pressure stops usually only stand on 10-12"). The organ has four stops on 100" (also known as the Big Reeds) and ten stops on 50" wind pressure:
| Stop | Division | Wind pressure |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Ophicleide 16′ | Pedal Right | 100" |
| Tuba Imperial 8′ | Solo | 100" |
| Trumpet Mirabilis 16′ | Gallery I | 100" |
| Tuba Maxima 8′ | Gallery I | 100" |
| Diaphone 32′ | Pedal Left | 50" |
| Tuba Magna 16′ | Solo | 50" |
| Bugle 8′ | Solo | 50" |
| Bombard 32′ | Pedal Left | 50" |
| Major Posaune 16′ | Pedal Left | 50" |
| Diaphone Phonon 16′ | Pedal Right | 50" |
| Posaune 16′ | Fanfare | 50" |
| Harmonic Tuba 8′ | Fanfare | 50" |
| Ophicleide 8′ | Fanfare | 50" |
| Major Clarion 4′ | Fanfare | 50" |
Apart from the aforementioned stops on record wind pressure, almost every division stands on at least 15" wind pressure, except for the Choir which stands on 10", and the Unenclosed Choir stands on 3". Also, some individual stops stand on lower wind pressure, for example the Diapason X of the Great division stands on only 4".
The organs wind supply is the most powerful ever used in an organ. The DC motors for the original eight blowers had a total power of 394 horsepower. These were replaced with AC motors in the early 1990s, which have a total of 600 HP and their seven blowers produce 36,400 cubic feet of wind per minute. The Right Stage chamber has two blowers, a 50" blower and a low pressure blower. The Left Stage chamber also has a 50" and low pressure blower. The Left Center chamber and Upper chamber share one blower, as these chambers don't need a lot of windpressure. The same is true for the Right Center and Upper chambers. There is also an extra compressor located behind the Right Stage chamber, which, coupled with wind from the 50" blower, provides wind for the 100" stops.
The Main Auditorium organ has nine 32′ stops, to provide all the power needed in the pedal (together with the 64′ Diaphone-Dulzian), to balance out the sound of the manual stops. The 32′ stops are:
| Stop | Division |
|---|---|
| Tibia Clausa 32′ | Pedal Right |
| Bombardon 32′ | Pedal Right |
| Diaphone 32′ | Pedal Left |
| Diapason 32′ | Pedal Left |
| Bombard 32′ | Pedal Left |
| Fagotto 32′ | Pedal Left |
| Sub Principal 32′ | Great |
| Trombone 32′ | Fanfare |
| Violone 32′ | Echo |
[edit] Console
The organ's console is the biggest in the world. It has 1,235 stop tabs controlling 587 flue stops, 265 reed stops, 35 melodic percussions, 46 non-melodic percussions, 164 couplers, 18 tremolos, and 120 swell pedal selectors for the 7 swell pedals controlling 15 swell boxes. The console is also the only one in the world with 7 manuals, of which the lower ones have been extended to 6 and even 7 octaves, opposed to the normal 5. The manuals from top to bottom are:
| VII | Bombard | 5 Octaves, 61 Keys, CC to c4 |
| VI | Echo | 5 Octaves, 61 Keys, CC to c4 |
| V | Fanfare | 5 Octaves, 61 Keys, CC to c4 |
| IV | Solo | 5 Octaves, 61 Keys, CC to c4 |
| III | Swell | 6 Octaves, 73 Keys, GGG to g4 |
| II | Great | 7 Octaves, 85 Keys, CCC to c5 |
| I | Choir | 7 Octaves, 85 Keys, CCC to c5 |
The Great and Choir manuals have both been enlarged to seven octaves so that specially extended stops in the pedal can be played throughout the 85 note compass of both manuals. These stops can be selected in two divisions in the right stopjamb. The Grand Great (for the Great Manual) controls stops from the Pedal Right and the Grand Choir (for the Choir Manual) controls stops from the Pedal Left. For example, the Grand Ophicleide 16′ can be played from the footboard, but also from the Great manual through the Grand Great.
Also, some divisions are playable on two manuals. For example, the Choir-Swell division is usually played from the Choir manual, but it has been duplexed stopkey for stopkey to the Swell manual, so that all the stops can also be played from there as the Swell-Choir, no matter what stops are drawn on the Choir manual. The same is true for the Great-Solo, which is usually played from the Great manual, but can also be played as the Solo-Great from the Solo manual.
[edit] Grand Ophicleide
The Grand Ophicleide in the organ Pedal Right division, speaking on 100" wind pressure, is recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest organ stop in the world. It is described as having "a pure trumpet note of ear-splitting volume, more than six times the volume of the loudest locomotive whistle".
Because of the enormous pressure the pipes stand on, they have to be secured to the ground, and the individual parts to each other. If any wind leaks, it can generate a whistle almost as loud as the tone of the pipes. Securing the pipes became a problem with the smallest pipes, so these were replaced with special flue pipes, that sounded very similar.
The reed pipes all have a weighted tongue, and the tuning wires are held firmly in place, just to maintain the correct tuning.
The Grand Ophicleide rank has been extended, so that the 16′, 8′ and 4′ registers can be drawn from the rank. It also allows the Grand Ophicleide to be played through the entire 85 key compass of the Great manual.
Rumor has it that Dennis McGurk, the former organ curator, always warned people on stage when the Grand Ophicleide or one of the other Big Reeds were going to be used, because of the sheer volume.
[edit] Diaphone-Dulzian
The organ possesses a unique stop in the organ world, the 64′ Diaphone-Dulzian in the Right Stage chamber (Pedal Right division), one of only two true 64′ stops in the world. (The other 64′ stop is the Contra-Trombone reed stop in the organ of Sydney Town Hall.) The stop is unique because it is a reed and diaphone stop hybrid.
When the construction of the organ began, it was planned to have two full 64′ stops in the pedal, a Diaphone stop called the Diaphone Profunda and a metal Dulzian. Later, the design was revised, and the Diaphone was cut, because it was feared it would crowd the Left Stage chamber (due to the width of the pipes), and the Dulzian was moved to the Right Stage chamber to have two 32′ reed stops in both Stage chambers. However, the sound of the 64′ octave of the Dulzian stop did not meet the criteria. It was then decided to use Diaphone boots to produce the 12 lowest notes. The remaining pipes are the original Dulzian reed boots.
Because of the the low frequencies involved, and the diaphone are specifically tuned to imitate a reed stop, the transition from reed to diaphone cannot be heard.
The diaphone's low C pipe stands 64′9″ (19.7 metres) tall, and produces a frequency of 8 Hz (the sound of the vibrating pallet is described as "a helicopter hovering over the building"). The pipe stands upright for about 40 feet, the remainder is turned towards the Right Stage chambers grill, like an upside-down L. All the pipes taller than 32 feet stand like this.
Some of the pipes are visible in the picture to the right. It shows the DDDDD-GGGGG# notes of the Diaphone-Dulzian on the left, and pipes of the 32′ Sub Principal of the Great division on the right, seen from the ground floor of the Right Stage chamber. Note the difference in height (or lack thereof), due to the fact that most Diaphone-Dulzian pipes are partly turned towards the grill.
The Diaphone-Dulzian rank spans from C3 to g2, which means that it is extended so far that the 64′, 422/3′, 32′, 211/3′, 16′, 102/3′, 8′ and 4′ stops can be drawn from the same rank. No extension rank in the world spans that far. Also, when the 64′ and 422/3′ are combined, the resultant tone would simulate a 128′ stop, which would sound a 4 Hz tone on low C.
The Diaphone-Dulzian is not often used. First, it is to be used in registrations of moderate volume. When all the stops are pulled, it is drowned out, and when few stops are pulled, it is too loud. Secondly, the vibrations can cause damage to the building.
[edit] Current state
Unfortunately, the organ has declined and is now in poor condition, and is no longer functional.
The remote combination action, which is housed in the building's basement, was flooded due to a hurricane in 1944, and has been unusable ever since. This has since been replaced with combination action integrated into both consoles. Also, the upper chambers (Fanfare, Echo, and String III divisions) are inaccessible due to the presence of asbestos, and the Gallery chambers have suffered water damage due to roof leaks.
Because of this, and the overall decline of the rest of the organ due to lack of repairs, the organ hasn't been playable for a long time. There isn't enough money to employ three required technicians to provide the constant required maintenance, let alone to restore the organ to its original state.[2]
In September 1998, a part of the organ (the Right Stage chamber) was restored to playable condition. Afterwards, a recording session took place, which captured the organs recordholders (the 64′ Diaphone-Dulzian, and the 100″ Tuba Imperial and Grand Ophicleide).
This was made possible by a $1.17 million grant from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which was used to return the Right Stage Chamber of the Main Auditorium organ and the entire Ballroom (Kimball) Organ to playable condition.
Unfortunately, due to carelessness of workmen during the renovation of the Boardwalk Hall, several windlines to the Right Stage chamber were cut, with no effort to identify the lines nor any plans to re-route or repair them. Also, cement dust has gotten in switching contacts, magnets and the organ pipes themselves. This left the entire organ damaged and the Right Stage chamber unplayable.[3]
The organisation in charge of the organ, ACCHOS (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society), is still looking for ways to raise the funds necessary to restore the Main Auditorium organ.
[edit] Largest organ debate
It has been debated that the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ is bigger than the Main Auditorium organ. The Wanamaker Organ has more ranks (461 opposed to 449 of the Main Auditorium organ) and weighs almost twice as much (287 tons opposed to the approximated 150 tons of the Main Auditorium Organ).
The Auditorium organ on the other hand, has almost 5,000 more pipes and has four entries in The Guinness Book of World Records. Because the Auditorium organ has these entries, the Wanamaker Organ is usually called "the largest operational pipe organ in the world" as the Auditorium Organ isn't operational and needs restoration (see "Current State" above). The Wanamaker Organ is entirely playable and in very good condition, as it has been restored very recently.
[edit] References
The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society
The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ (Hess/Smith, Peter E. Randall Publisher)
- ^ http://www.acchos.org/html/introduction/highlights.html
- ^ http://www.atos.org/Pages/Journal/AC_ConventionHall/AC_ConventionHall.html
- ^ http://www.acchos.org/pdf/GO17.pdf
