JULIAN RHODES' DREAM ORGANS
PART SEVEN: CONCLUSION
Audsley's most immediate and widespread influence was the inclusion of
string divisions in large organs. It was the one feature of both his
practical example and his propaganda that was generally accepted into the
mainstream of organ-design. String divisions appeared at
Cleveland Auditorium, OH (Skinner 1921), Atlantic City High
School (Midmer-Losh 1923), West Point Cadet Chapel (Moller 1923 & 1927),
the Philadelphia Wanamaker organ (after 1923),
St. Mark, Philadelphia, PA (Wanamaker/Kimball 1924),
St. Matthew's Lutheran, Hannover PA (Austin 1925), Atlantic City Convention Hall
(draft stoplist 1929) and elsewhere. String organs
are still occasionally planned today, such as those at Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove CA
(Ruffatti 1982) and Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco (14 rank Violes d'Orchestre
prepared for, Ruffatti 1986).
Compound expression, which Audsley pioneered in the 1860s, was taken up in the 1880s by
Carlton Michell, and is included today - in modified form - in organs built by Schoenstein.
Audsley's 1904 Louisiana Purchase Organ forms the nucleus of the John
Wanamaker Organ at Philadelphia. As well as the large floating String
division, an Orchestral division was added very much in the Audsley
manner, with batteries of flutes, woodwind and brass-wind stops.
Audsley's influence on Emerson Richards and the Atlantic City organs
seems clear, quite apart from String divisions. In the 1922 enlargement
of his residence organ Richards applied a complex system of manual
subdivision and compound expression; the stops of one subdivision were duplexed
on two manuals in the Audsley fashion. At the High School a Harmonic division was
included, as well as a floating
Trombone chorus. At the Convention Hall Richards claimed that Audsley's
theories had no influence on his stoplist for the Midmer-Losh organ;
but there were Fanfare and Brass divisions, as in 'The Temple of Tone', while
the Great-Solo and Choir-Swell divisions included many timbre-creating
mutations.
Frederick Mayer, the organist responsible for much of the West Point organ, was
strongly influenced by Audsley, a debt he was happy to acknowledge.
During the successive enlargements of the
Cadet Chapel instrument in the 1920s Audsley's spirit was evident in
the choruses of loud and soft mutations,
especially the 72-rank Harmonic division; and in the imitative
families of registers in the 24-rank Orchestral division.
The pedalboard was an 'Audsley-Willis', and the Great manual
was played from the lowest keyboard as Audsley had advocated.
The world's 'big three' - Atlantic City, Wanamaker and West Point - were the
culmination of the organ's 'Romantic Zenith'. By the time they were
completed the economic climate had changed, and organ building on such a
lavish scale was no longer possible. But it is by virtue of their
stature as the leviathans of the organ world that they have retained their
fascination. They all owe a debt to Audsley, and
it is partly through them that his ideals live on in the consciousness of organ
lovers.
Other instruments showed various degrees of influence.
At Longwood Gardens the 1926 Aeolian organ
included, as well as a 20-rank String division, floating Fanfare and Percussion
divisions as proposed by Audsley in 'The Temple of Tone'. Several smaller Aeolian
residence organs contained floating divisions; the Watkins residence, Winona, MN
had floating String, Echo, Antiphonal and Vox divisions.
The 1926 Austin organ for the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition,
Philadelphia, PA included a 26-rank floating String organ; as at Atlantic City
High School (and elsewhere) the Great was partially enclosed. More recently
the Boston University Symphonic Organ, rebuilt by Nelson
Barden between 1985 and 1993 using older material, included a partially enclosed
Great, a String division, a Percussion division and a prepared-for Fanfare division.
Around 1915 the M.P. Moller company devised a stoplist for a three manual 'Duplex
Concert Organ'. Whether consciously influenced by Audsley or not, there are
several features typical of his practice: diapason chorus work confined to Great only;
non-traditional dispositions throughout the organ; concentration on colour rather than
structure; the provision of orchestral voices throughout. Details of nomenclature
apart, this stoplist has an uncanny resemblance to some of those we have studied
from "The Temple of Tone", though as working organ builders Mollers specified a good
number of extentions and duplications in order to be financially competitive, a
consideration which rarely troubled Audsley. (There is also a perceptible debt to
Thomas Casson in the duplication at octave pitch of Great registers on Orchestral).
The Regent Picture House at Brighton installed a straight 34-stop organ by Hill, Norman &
Beard in 1921. It was designed by the builders in consultation with George Swaine, and
greatly influenced by Audsley. Apart from
the details of the stoplist, two of the three manuals had 'compound expression'.
What of his role in a wider sense? Influence is a tricky thing to try to measure.
As a comparison let us take Noel Bonavia-Hunt, a similarly prolific writer on organ matters.
Almost any issue of 'The Organ' from the 1920s and 30s contains
passing references by eminent and skilled organists, as
well as such forward-looking figures
as Cecil Clutton, attesting to the beneficial
influence of his writings and example. Yet he was directly
responsible for as few instruments as Audsley, and, as Stephen Bickenell has written,
"his own opinion of his skill
as a voicer is poorly supported by the instruments that passed through his hands."
Perhaps the influence of such men is to be found not, like organ builders, in
their legacy of instruments; nor, like organ teachers, in those who carry their
principles intact to the next generation. I think it is more subtle than
that, but none the less pervasive.
Audsley and Bonavia-Hunt were gentlemen who did not
need to earn a wage. They had both time and energy to devote to their interest in
the organ, which was often restless, sometimes obsessive.
For Audsley it was the quest for the perfect organ of the future.
For Bonavia-Hunt
it was the search for perfect organ tone, especially the diapason.
From their
writings a wholehearted enthusiasm and commitment shines forth; you feel that
the organ really mattered to them. They pursued all the
ramifications of their subject, often down the most recondite by-ways. A
generation growing up on their writings could hardly avoid being inspired by their
attitudes, a welcome counterpoint to the more mundane concerns with which
an organist's or organ builder's life is so largely occupied.
The next generation may not have
continued Audsley's search for the
most flexible tonal structure, or Bonavia-Hunt's quest for the
ideal Open Diapason; but it surely imbibed their best
qualities: seriousness of purpose, endurance and enthusiasm, scholarly
thoroughness and the highest ideals.
Julian Rhodes 1992-1999
This essay first appeared in an abbreviated and modified form on the electronic mailing
list piporg-l in July 1999
- Books -
- Articles & Letters -
It is not easy to form a clear and accurate impression of the extent of Audsley's
influence, or indeed of his stature as an organ expert. His books,
particularly 'The Art of Organ Building', have enjoyed a great reputation. He
contributed frequently to the musical press from the 1880s onwards. Yet few
organs were built to his designs, and no instruments
were built by others in strict accordance
with his principles. In the years after his death the organ world
pursued a course far removed from what he stood for. His
tonal theories became less and less fashionable as time passed.
GREAT
16 Viol Diapason tc
8 Open Diapason
8 Viole d'Orchestre
8 Doppel Flöte
4 Octave ext.
4 Zart Flute
2 Piccolo
III Mixture
16 Bass Clarinet tc
8 French Horn
4 Octave Horn
Cathedral Chimes
ORCHESTRAL
8 Violin Diapason from Great 16ft.
8 Horn Diapason synthetic
8 Quintadena
8 Viole d'Orchestre Great
8 Viole Celeste tc
4 Flute Harmonic from Great 2ft.
16 Fagotta (sic.)
8 Orchestral Oboe ext. 16ft.
8 Clarinet from Great 16ft.
Tremulant
Concert Harp
SOLO
8 Gross Flute
8 Concert Flute
8 Gemshorn
8 Violoncello
4 Flute Ouverte
4 Gemshorn ext. 8ft.
16 Double Tuba TC, ext 8ft.
8 Tuba
8 Vox Humana
Tremulant
PEDAL
16 Sub Bass ext. Solo Gross Flute 8ft.
16 Gemshorn ext. Solo Gemshorn 8ft.
16 Lieblich Gedeckt
8 Violoncello Solo
8 Flute Solo Concert Flute 8ft.
17 couplers including Great octave.
Expression pedals: Solo, Orchestral, Register crescendo.
1,192 pipes.
In Britain Audsley's influence was usually less direct. A notable exception was the 1911
Lewis rebuild of the organ at St. Matthias, Richmond, Surrey. A
conventional 4-manual scheme was transformed into an avant-garde 22-rank organ largely
enclosed in four swell chambers. Although the liberal use of manual
extension and duplication would not have been to Audsley's taste, the
subdivision of registers on each manual was exactly according to his precepts.
The organ's designer, Kenneth Burns, acknowledged his debt to Audsley's ideas.
(The stoplist is available
here, in the NPOR database.)
GREAT
Section 1, box A:
16 Quint Flute
8 Open Diapason
Octave
Octaves only
Section 2, box A :
8 Viola
8 Hohl Flöte
4 Flute Conique
2 Super Octave
Chimes 8
Percussion 8
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave
Tuba to Great
Swell to Great 16-8-4
Orchestral to Great 16-8-4
Vibrato (both sections)
SWELL
Section 1, box B:
8 Horn Diapason
16 Saxophone
8 Harmonic Trumpet
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave
Swell 1 to Great
Section 2, box C:
8 Zauberflöte
8 Aeoline
8 Unda Maris
4 Octave Gamba
2 Piccolo
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave
Swell 2 to Great
Vibrato (both sections)
ORCHESTRAL
Section 1, box D:
8 Violoncello
8 Harmonic Claribel
4 Concert Flute
8 Orchestral Oboe
8 Tuba Harmonique
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave
Orchestral 1 to Great
Section 2, box E:
8 Viola d'Orchestre
8 String Celeste (II)
VI Grand Chorus 8.12.15.17.19.22 (string ranks)
8 Clarinet
8 Vox Humana
8 Orchestral Trumpet
Glockenspiel 2
Octave
Unison Off
Sub Octave
Swell to Orchestral
Orchestral 2 to Great
Vibrato (both sections)
PEDAL
32 Resultant Bass
16 Open Diapason
16 Violone
16 Bourdon
16 Dolce
8 Octave ext.
8 Flute ext.
16 Trombone part from Orchestral Tuba 8ft.
16 Saxophone Swell
Pizzicato Strings (plucked) 16
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal 8-4
Orchestral to Pedal 8-4
ACCESSORY TABLETS: Bass Drum on/off; Bass Drum tap/roll; Side Drum on/off;
Side Drum tap/roll; Pedal to Great pistons; Pedal to Swell pistons;
Pedal to Orchestral pistons; Great to Pedal pistons;
Swell boxes, unison alternation;
Orchestral boxes, unison alternation;
Stop switch.
Octave & Sub8ve pistons to each manual.
4 expression shoes.
In 1929 even Henry Willis III added a very Audsley-esque 'Mutation' division to a residence
organ. But it is perhaps in the instruments built by Compton in the 1920s and 30s - at
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, St. John's Wood Liberal Synagogue, Downside Abbey, the BBC
Broadcasting House Concert Hall and elsewhere - that Audsley's influence
in Britain is most clearly present. Multiple swell-chambers, imitative/orchestral
registers and timbre-creating mixtures abound.
MAIN SOURCES
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AUDSLEY, George Ashdown: The Art of Organ-Building (New York, 1905)
AUDSLEY, George Ashdown: The Organ of the Twentieth Century (New York,
1919)
AUDSLEY, George Ashdown: Organ-Stops and their Artistic Registration
(New York, 1921)
AUDSLEY, George Ashdown: The Temple of Tone (New York, 1925)
BICKNELL, Stephen: The History of the English Organ (Cambridge, 1996)
WHITWORTH, Reginald: The Electric Organ (London, 1930)
AUDSLEY, George Ashdown: The Audsley System of Divisional Stop-
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1922)
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quarterly, London, January 1925)
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(in 'The American Organist', New York, October 1988)
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'The Temple of Tone', New York, 1925)
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Philipp Wirshing, Organ Builder (in 'The American Organist', New York,
October 1968)