Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ

Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ
Classification

Pipe organ
Builders

Midmer-Losh Organ Company
More articles

  • List of notable pipe organs

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. It is the largest organ in the world, as measured by the number of pipes (officially 33,112, but the exact number is unknown).[1] The main auditorium is 487×288×137 feet (148×88×42 m)[2] with a floor area of 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2), giving a volume of 5,500,000 cubic feet (160,000 m3).[3] Consequently, the organ runs on much higher wind pressures than most organs in order to achieve a volume loud enough to fill the hall. The organ has four entries in The Guinness Book of World Records including "Largest pipe organ ever constructed", "Largest musical instrument ever constructed" and "Loudest musical instrument ever constructed", and holds several records in the organ world. It is one of only two organs in the world to have an open 64' rank,[4] and the only organ to have stops voiced on 100" of wind pressure (~ 3.6 psi).[4] Its console features seven keyboards, called manuals.[5]

Construction and layout

Construction of the organ took place between May 1929 and December 1932. The organ was designed by state senator Emerson Lewis Richards and was built by the Midmer-Losh Organ Company of Merrick, New York. Most of the pipes were built by Midmer-Losh. Anton Gottfried made some of the reed pipes including the Brass Trumpet, Egyptian Horn, Euphone and Musette Mirabilis. The German firm Welte-Mignon provided the Bassoon with papier-mâché resonators[6] 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, Perc-
ussion, Great, Solo
Great-Solo (Flues)
Great-Solo (Reeds)
Left Forward
Choir

 Right Forward
Brass Chorus
String II
   
Left Center
Gallery III (Diap'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 layout 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 two Forward chambers), but the quoted cost greatly exceeded the allocated $300,000,[2] and there wasn't enough space to house all the pipes. The numbers of pipes was then reduced to 29,000. Later, when the Forward Chambers were also used, some stops from the original plan were reinstated, raising the numbers of pipes to the present official number of 33,114 (see also below). The contract price was $347,200.[2]

Console

The organ's main 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, 120 swell pedal selectors for the 6 swell pedals controlling 15 swell boxes,[4] and a stop crescendo pedal. The console is also the only one in the world with 7 manuals. The lowest two (Choir and Great) have a range of seven octaves, and the next lowest (Swell) has a range of six octaves, while the rest have a normal five octave range.[7] The bottom five keys on the Swell manual (GGG to BBB,) are in place mainly for cosmetic reasons, as there are no pipes, in most ranks, for those notes.[7] The manuals from top to bottom are:[4]

VIIBombard 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
IIISwell 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 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 by stop-keys in two divisions in the right stop jamb. 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.[7] For example, the Grand Ophicleide can be played from the pedalboard, but also from the Great manual by means of 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 stop key for stop key 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.[8]

Although the four Gallery divisions can be played from any manual, their "home" is the Bombard manual. Not only are they the only divisions playable from it, but its keyslip contains the pistons for the Gallery organ.[9]

Stops

Stoplist Summary
Department Voices Ranks Pipes
Pedal Right 11 11 903
Pedal Left 10 16 955
Choir 29 37 2,792
Unenclosed Choir 6 9 657
Great 38 63 4,647
Great-Solo (Flues) 13 13 1,152
Great-Solo (Reeds) 12 12 972
Swell 36 55 4,456
Swell-Choir 17 17 1,542
Solo 22 33 2,085
Fanfare 21 36 2,364
Echo 22 27 1,896
Gallery I 4 10 754
Gallery II 7 9 621
Gallery III 6 9 681
Gallery IV 8 8 596
Brass Chorus 8 10 730
String I 11 20 1,436
String II 24 37 2,657
String III 9 17 1,217
Total 314 449 33,114

In addition to 852 stopkeys controlling the speaking stops summarised above, the organ console also has the following:[4]

64' 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 Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ.[10]) The stop is unique because it is a reed/flue hybrid.

When construction of the organ commenced, it was planned to have two 64' stops in the pedal, a Diaphone Profunda and a Dulzian.[10] Later, the design was revised, and the Diaphone was cut, because it was feared it would crowd the Right Stage chamber (due to the width of the pipes). Consequently, the Dulzian was moved to the Right Stage chamber.[10] However, the sound of the 64' Dulzian did not meet the criteria, requiring Diaphone pipes to be used for the lowest 22 notes. The remaining pipes in the rank are reeds. Because of the low frequencies involved, and because the diaphone is voiced to imitate a reed stop, the transition from reed to diaphone cannot be heard.

The Diaphone-Dulzian's low-C pipe stands 59' (18 m) tall, weighs 3,350 pounds (1,675 kg), and produces a frequency of 8 Hz[10] (the sound of the vibrating pallet is described as "a helicopter hovering over the building"), a tone that is more felt than heard. The pipe stands upright for about 40 feet (12 m), the remainder is mitred (turned) towards the Right Stage chamber's grill. All pipes taller than 32 feet (9.8 m) are designed in this manner.

The Diaphone-Dulzian rank spans from C3 to g²; it is sufficiently extended so that the 64', 32', 16', 8' and 4' unison stops, and the 42²/3', 211/3' and 10²/3' mutation stops, may be drawn from the same rank. No other extension rank in the world spans that far. Also, when the 64' and 42²/3' are combined, the resultant tone simulates a 128' stop, equivalent to a 4 Hz tone on low C.

Use of the Diaphone-Dulzian is rare, being used primarily in registrations of moderate volume. 'In very big combinations it is lost and in smaller ones it is too loud.'[2][10]

Grand Ophicleide

The Grand Ophicleide in the organ's 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." The Grand Ophicleide produces up to 130 decibels at a distance of 1 meter.[11]

Because of the high pressure on which the pipes stand, they must be tightly secured to the pipe chest, with individual parts secured to each other. If any wind leaks, a whistle, almost as loud as the tone of the pipes themselves, may be heard.[9] Completing the rank presented a problem; the highest 12 notes are produced by special flue pipes having a similar voice and timbre. All of the reed pipes use weighted tongues. The tuning wires are held firmly in place to maintain the correct tuning.

The Grand Ophicleide rank is extended one octave above the 16' unison rank, allowing an 8' register to be drawn from the rank; it is playable from the 85-key Great manual and from the 32-key pedalboard.

32' stops

To provide all the power needed in the pedal, the organ has ten 32' stops which 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
(Diaphone-Dulzian 32′, extension of 64′) (Pedal Right)

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 last. The Guinness Book also recognizes the Grand Ophicleide 16′ in the Pedal Right division to be the loudest organ stop in the world.

The organ was recognized by the Organ Historical Society as an instrument "of historical value and worthy of preservation" as part of its Historic Organs Citations program. The Citation, No. 313, was presented to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority by Paul Marchesano on October 26, 2004.[12]

Officially, the organ has 33,112 pipes, but the exact number of pipes is unknown.[1] A detailed survey conducted in 1999 concluded that the organ had 33,114 pipes,[13] recently revised it to 33,116 after the discovery that one rank went down two notes lower than specified in the organbuilder's contract.[1] 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 one in the world to have stops standing on 100" wind pressure.[4] It is also the only organ to have two 32′ pedal stops on 50" wind pressure. There are two more organs in the world with stops on 50", but these are 8′ solo trumpet or tuba stops. 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:[4]

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 organ's wind supply is the most powerful ever used in a pipe organ. The DC motors for the original eight blowers had a total power of 394 horsepower (294 kW). These were replaced with AC motors in the early 1990s, which have a total of 600 horsepower (450 kW) and their seven blowers produce 36,400 cubic feet (1,030 m3) of wind per minute. The Right Stage chamber has two blowers, a 50-inch (1,300 mm) blower and a low pressure blower, which also provides wind for the Right Forward chamber. The same is true for the Left Stage chamber. The Left Center chamber and Left Upper chamber don't need high wind pressure, and therefore a shared blower suffices, which is also true for the Right Center and Right Upper chambers. The four 100" stops receive wind from an extra blower located behind the Right Stage chamber, coupled with wind from the 50 inch blower.

It has been debated that the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ is bigger than the Main Auditorium organ. The Wanamaker Organ has more ranks (464 opposed to 449 of the Main Auditorium organ). From that perspective, the Wanamaker Organ would be like an orchestra that had more players in it. The Wanamaker Organ reputedly weighs almost twice as much (287 tons opposed to the approximated 150 tons of the Main Auditorium Organ). The issue was clouded in decades past when Wanamaker staffers exaggerated the pipe count (28,482 pipes) to 30,067 pipes by listing some 61-note chests as having 73 notes (12 additional per stop in the super-coupler range). Wanamaker staffers believed at the time that the Atlantic City figures had also been exaggerated.

The Auditorium organ has almost 5,000 more pipes and has four entries in The Guinness Book of World Records. The Wanamaker Organ, however, is also listed in the Guinness Book. Unlike the Atlantic City Organ, it is not highly unified (with ranks of pipes being "tapped" at 16', 8', 4' 22⁄3', etc. pitches). Each instrument has a different artistic aim and plays into an entirely different space.

Current state

Although the instrument has not been fully functional since the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, the 15-20% which has recently become operational has begun to be heard for the first time publicly in many decades. The organ was played in September 2013 during the Miss America pageant, its first public performance in 40 years.[14] Since May 2014, free 1/2 hour noon concerts followed by free 1/2 hour tours are offered Monday-Friday from May through October excluding holidays. In depth "Behind the Scenes" tours will be available weekly on Wednesdays at 10 AM throughout the year beginning in May 2015.

Both organs of the hall (the Ballroom features a 4/55 Kimball opus 7073) have begun to slowly return to the regular musical life the of the building as their mechanical condition permits.

The current restoration project led by the Historic Organ Restoration Committee (HORC, a 501c3) is a $16M project entirely funded by donations from the general public and charitable foundations and is scheduled to complete the restoration of both organs by July 1, 2023. Since the inception of the project, 2014 is the first year that the restoration effort has been fully funded. The restoration effort focuses on the re-leathering of the entire instrument as well as the correction of damage to pipework and mechanical systems sustained from construction and water in the intervening years. The upper chambers (Fanfare, Echo, and String III divisions) had long been inaccessible due to the presence of asbestos (which has recently been removed).

HORC estimates that as much as 50% of the main organ may be operational by the summer of 2016 if the project continues to receive such favorable public reception and funding.

Dr. Steven Ball was named titular organist on July 1, 2013. As of March 26, 2015 HORC is conducting an international search for a full-time curator for both instruments.[15][16] Full restoration of the organ is estimated to cost up to $13 million.[17]

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 organ's record holders (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.[18]

Due to lack of planning and oversight and the carelessness of workmen during the renovation of the Boardwalk Hall, much damage has been done to the organ. Pipes were removed, bent, and stepped on. (Organ pipes are made from soft alloys based on lead, so it is very easy to dent or crush them.) Windlines to various pipe chambers were cut, with no effort to identify the lines nor any plans to re-route or repair them. The relay for the left stage chamber was cut out without regard to its restoration, and various switching and control cables were cut. The 5-manual console connection was cut. Also, cement dust has entered the switching contacts, magnets and the organ pipes themselves. All this left the entire organ damaged and the Right Stage chamber, which was 98% operational in 1998, was completely disabled. The relay of the Ballroom Organ was also removed in a careless way, which rendered that organ unplayable as well. It has currently been returned to service and is now featured in an annual silent film series[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Your Questions... Answered: How many pipes does the Midmer-Losh organ have?". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Smith, Stephen D. (2002). Atlantic City's Musical Masterpiece. The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. ISBN 978-0-9708494-4-1.
  3. ↑ "Midmer-Losh". Boardwalk Hall. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "Main Auditorium Organ". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  5. ↑ "World's Largest Organ Has Seven Manuals' Popular Mechanics, March 1933
  6. ↑ "Highlights: The Midmer-Losh Organ". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Your Questions... Answered: On the Midmer-Losh Organ, why do some of the main console's manuals have more keys than others?". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  8. ↑ "Main Auditorium Organ ~ Stop List". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25. The Great-Solo department (on the Great manual) is duplexed, stop-key for stop-key, to the Solo keyboard from where it is playable as the Solo-Great. Similarly, the Swell-Choir is also available on the Choir manual as the Choir-Swell.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Smith, Stephen D. (Fall 2001). "The Gallery Organs" (PDF). The Grand Ophicleide (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society) (13): 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25. On the main console, the Bombard (seventh) manual has no speaking stops of its own and is, in effect, a coupler keyboard (from which only the four Gallery organs can be played). However, as its keyslip contains the pistons for the Gallery organs and because specially designated "Master" couplers are provided for coupling them to the Bombard, it is quite clear that this manual was intended to be a "boarding house", if not a "home", for these floating departments.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Smith, Stephen D. (2001). "The World’s Largest Organ Pipes" (PDF). The Grand Ophicleide (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society) (14): 5–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  11. ↑ Currie, Tom (Aug 16, 2012). "The 10 Largest Instruments Ever". AOL, Inc. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Historic Organ Citations". Organ Historical Society. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
  13. ↑ Smith, Stephen D. "Five Days In Six Chambers" (PDF). The Grand Ophicleide (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society) (4): 7–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  14. ↑ Rosenberg, Amy (March 31, 2014). "Boardwalk Hall organ will again accompany a silent movie". Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Hess & Son, Fred (2001). Smith, Stephen D., ed. The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ. Peter E. Randall Publisher. ISBN 978-0-9708494-1-0.
  16. ↑ Smith, Stephen D. (1999). "The World's Largest Pipe Organ". American Theatre Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
  17. ↑ Smith, Stephen D. (2000). "Atlantic City Update" (PDF). The Grand Ophicleide (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society) (10): 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
  18. ↑ "News: Update -- October 2008". Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
  19. ↑ Smith, Stephen D. (2002). "New Problems" (PDF). The Grand Ophicleide (Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society) (17): 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2014-11-19.

External links

Coordinates: 39°21′13″N 74°26′19″W / 39.35361°N 74.43861°W