The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1894-10-11
MUSIC BY ELECTRICITY.
Wonderful Organ Just Erected In n New
York Church.

taxes rank IN Its musical equipments with
the finest in the world, says the New
York Sun. This great organ, which is
divided into three widely separated parts,
exceeds in size any similar instrument in
this country, with the possible exception
of that Of the Auditorium in Chicago.
The one in the Cathedral at Garden City,
L. l., was planned on a greater scale, but
is not complete.
The unique feature of st. Bartholo.
news organ is that it is operated through.
out by electricity, which isapplied to the
entire key, pedal and stop action. In.
stead of the old fashioned mass of levers
and rods there are miles and miles of
silz-wound wires crossing and rccrossing
within and stretching in bewilderinp
maze from keys to pipes. There are sew
eral electrical organs in churches in this
city in which large magnets and powerfui
currents are necessary, but this vast or.
gan, with its $3.50 pipes, requires only
tiny magnc and current of three volts
for the entire instrument
The installation of the new organ re
quired a period of fifteen monthsof care
full work. The instrument was built by
George :. Iutchings, Of Boston Il. II
Warren, the organist, superintendent the
work About eighteen months ago the
chanccl of st. Bartholomew was en-
larged and the choir was moved from the
rear to the front of the church. There
was very good organ in the gallery at
the time, but with the moving of the
choir chancel organ became necessary
Then the idea was conceived of using the
OLD gallery organ as one of the sub.divis
ions of the new one, the other two por
tons to be placed one on each side of the
chance. Tordo this effectively part of
the old choir organ was moved to the
south division of the chancel and much
enlarged 10y the addition of several hun.
dred pipes.
The gallery division is the largest of
the three, and contains part of the great
swell and pedal organs together with the
entire solo organ. The next division, in
point of size is in recess ut the south of
the chancel. 1t contains part of the
swell organ and the pedal dulciana. All
the pipes that were retained from the old
organ have been carefully revoiced and
their pitch lowered to the present inter
national pitch. The huge organ is con.
trolled by one performerat the 4-manual
key board.
The key and stop action Of the organ is
new and is being patented. In organs of
the old style pressure upon key worked
Il series of levers to produce the tone, but
in this organ pressure upon a key makes
an electrical contact, by means of which
a small magnet at the pipe is made to
draw down diaphragm. This permits
air to pass from the wind chest into a
small bellows, which in filling acts as az
engine and opens the valve proper to the
pipe. The use OF the electrical agent in
sures an immediate response to the touch
of the performer and renders the action
noiseless. The stops all work
on the same principal. The solo organ
and part of the choir organ are enclosed
in special swell boxes. These are really
shutter devices, by the opening and clos
ing of which the tones of the incl0sed |
pipes may be shaded from pianissimo
when shut to forte when open. One of
the swell boxes has two sets of shutters
for the rendering of the finest effects and
in shading. Each portion of
the swell proper and the solo and choir
swells are controlled by four individual
pedals. BY means of small locking
pedal the mechanism of all four of these
pedals may be coupled and operated sim
1t is possible by these means to pro-
duce the marvelously exquisite effects oil
tone-color and crescendo and decrescendo
that are only equaled by large and per-
fectly trained orchestra. The shutters
in one division of the organ are built of
Stats three inches in thickness, and when
they are closed the notes seem to steal
out with the mellow pleading of a distant
lutte. When all the pedals have been
coupled and rise to crescendo the great
harmony peals out until the whole church
seems TO vibrate. What may be most