The Theater Organ

 

The Theater Organ is a distinctly American artform and invention. It is, of course, a pipe organ and in every way in keeping with the ancient traditions of the classical organ family. However, it is a very specifically evolved type of pipe organ. Originally conceived as a one man "unit orchestra" to accompany silent films, it could simulate the sound of an entire theater orchestra as well as its more "classical" organ counterpart. The instrument, billed as a new tonal and mechanical marvel of the era, was to achieve a remarkable height of refinement from the short time between 1915-1930. With the coming of sound films and the Great Depression, production ceased in most organ factories and the era came to an end all too quickly.

The vast majority of the true tonal and mechanical inventions which were to become an integral part of the instrument were the brainchild of Robert Hope Jones Jr., a young and brilliant English Immigrant to the United States. He developed a tonal philosophy which pursued the final stages of the development of the orchestral and symphonic schools of tonal design in organ building at the beginning of this century.

 

Robert Hope-Jones

Beginning with the new and inexhaustible wind supply of the electric blower, he began to explore voicing pipework with the new high pressures which had never before been available (previous to this, the wind supply had to be raised by hand). Forms and shapes of organ pipes evolved into new and fantastic creations (such as the trumpets below) and the use of percussion stops, both tuned and un-tuned created an entirely new tonal palate.

Indeed, a new boldness and color of sound never before experienced appeared for the pleasure and amazement of spellbound theater audiences- a not surprising reaction for a general public accustomed only to the dulcet tones of the home phonograph!

Trumpets Pipes in the Solo Chamber of the Stanford Theater, Palo Alto, CA being tuned by the masterful hand of Ed Stout.

Responsible, more than most perhaps, for the launching of this new instrument into the public eye was organist Jesse Crawford, the acclaimed "Poet of the Organ". Poet and, perhaps, magician. At the forefront of an incredible rush of theater organ activities in the 1920's in America, he virtually single-handedly defined the style of the instrument, creating new types of phrasing and technique as well as engineering a technical foundation upon which generations of latter theater organists have based their arrangements of popular and classical orchestral music. In effect, he wanted the organ to "sing"- and it did.

 

Jesse Crawford

It is sometimes surprising to realize exactly how few of the original theater organs are left to us. Time and circumstance have all taken their toll in a remarkably short time upon the great movie palaces which once housed most of these magnificent creations. From a total of over 7,000 instruments installed in American theaters between 1915 and 1933, fewer than 40 now remain in their original homes. It is at once a shocking and tragic statement about a culture in which so much becomes disposable so very quickly. When the silent film era ended, these great "shrines to art and culture" became suddenly redundant. Disposable. The few organs which were lucky enough to still see occasional use in theaters had to escape repossession in the early years of the depression, water, fire, later theater renovators, metal scrappers and wrecking balls not to mention the ever present menace of less than scrupulous organ enthusiasts eager to pilfer a once complete instruments for their "choice" parts. Destruction. Forever. Irreversible.

It is not here that the story will end, however. The Theater Organ is more than just another mechanical curiosity of the Roaring 20's. It is an art form. Do we all realize this? As the modern day staff organist of an original movie palace from the era, I am more than just the guardian of an anachronistic musical tradition associated with early film. I assure you that getting a pile of wood, metal and leather to sound anything like an orchestra (or whatever else you need for that matter) is as much of a challenge as it ever was. Still, it is obvious that there is something much more profound about the presence and use of these instruments in public spaces. How is it that a modern, digitally crazed, technologically informed theater audience can be just as thrilled by the roar of a theater organ as could an audience from 1927 when the phonograph was king?

The answer lies within the instrument itself. Like an orchestra, the Theater Organ is a remarkable palate of sound. Unlike its orchestral counterpart, however, it is at the instant disposal and complete will of a single performer- an inextricable, and even erotic marriage of technology, music, theater and art. It is the presentation of a single individual as conductor, arranger, accompanist, soloist and magician- an entity capable of almost supernatural powers of appearance and disappearance as well as the ability to exercise absolute control over the most powerful and universal of human languages: Music. Therein lies the magic of this great art. Therein lies the vital importance of preservation for all time.

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