The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-11
GREAT ORGAN OF 1000 PIPES
BTTLr FOR THE CATHEDRAL
or ST. JOHN THE DIVINE.

Nonr superior to u and Possibly Non,
fyyuai Pour Years spent In It's Con
.tr,Irtion Unique Features - Tw.
Electric Motors usea 20 Operate u
rhr gr,s.t organ which Ia being installer
-. rathr.irsl Of st. John the Divin.
approaching completion. When Il
,tu.GIy finished, as it will b. within a
..., W tso. New York will be richie,
lat organs than any other city In
world.
!. -" opinion Of Ernest NJ skinner
builder Of this and other famous
N.N York Instruments, the Cathesira
.ill y,sssss tho browning achievement,
.. ar IN organ building In the numbe,
ups this organ IL slightly smaller
'r.. - few other instruments.
Bu; IN point Of completeness, says
~ sinner. both AZ regards tone color
md volunle. 1t will have no superior in
~. ,sorld and possibly no e.lual There
~" no compromises or abbrev iations OF
uy sort or description. Several Of IN.
one ,nlors appearing in this instrument
-, Ised for the first time in the HISTORY
u ryan building and nothing has been
IF .ndone 10 make II "A great work ~
.r
ere are people to whom this talk
. \ great work Of art will mean less
nan the fact that the organ In COSTING
t,DnO, that IL has between 5000 and
NJ pipes. that the largest Of these il "A
,-dt wooden conduit 81 feet long and
nat IN. smallest is a thin reed OF tin no,
o, on 81 Large rs u lead pencil.
f....A a M, t,a,t,1, 30, -,
uuen IN establishment IL told that in reality
'rr'" orGanists must work together 10
~a." the hie instrument speak. The rea 1
rganist - Miles Farrow but he would
~ powerless without his two assistants,
.He same being Is horsepower electric
rotor operating the southern division
z IN" instrument and ~ horse power
motor for the northern division. These
'Wo divisions are placed one on either sid.
Z the chancel or choir Of the Cathedral
- fifty feet above the main floor.
Each division occupies the space OF a
'"d sized house and each il packed with
'lnks on ranks Of pipes. zinc. composition
nd wooden. The largest IL the r. foot
adai bombarde. the only one Of its kind
the world except the one in the College
the City OF New York. IL is said that
N Westminster Abbey there ia an organ
aIpe - feet long. laid horizontally along
he ceiling OF the choir loft The ~ foot
ip" up al the Cathedral OF ST John the
Divine gives the same tone because il has
a A. foot stop. II is a curious fact tina ,
nose square wooden organ pipes are
med 10 pitch just an octave hi CHER than
No note they are intended TO give. A
Ill, ..L
hen put into the end Of the pine, with
ne consequence that the pitch il lowered
ust one octave. In this way the T. foot
pipe il made 10 give the note Of an I'M
stopped one 81 feet long
II is rather stretching the Imagination
. call this sound a note Ii is just a great
Eusty rumble. as II an inconceivably
huge giant breathed audibly up there
under the echoinR domes and vaults.
As for the sound of the littlest pipe il IL
ike the thin. shrill singing Of a Tea kettle
ust beginning 10 whisper TO itself about
apiling
Between those two extremes come
almost 1000 other tones in which the big
ryan can speak. One of these. the
solo voix celeste. il the first Of its kind IN
sNIstence. The peculiar quality of its
N II secured 10y tuning the pipe almost
p. "rCeptiDiy Oh the true pitch, 50 that
.~ wavering RIGHTEOUSNESS like THAI
- violins in the motif Of the Grail.
the wooden pipes are made Of pine.
>or" Of the metal pipes are Of zinc.
o'H"-s of a composition Of lead and tin.
T." Inference in the amount OF tin causes
as,"rlshing variations in the quality OF
~" v.bra'Ion Of the pipe. and conse-
.Ian'ly Of the tone it gives.
The names Of the different parts Of n
pip" ara interesting. For instance the
..r is forced in through "A hole in the
pointed "a" II the pipe. goes through the
'Ir the slit cut in the side). and strikes
~" lip. In some cases il then hits the
u"nri "a metal cylinder attached just
he. " the opening) and rebounds against
'H" lip. producing a double vibration.
her" Is also "A tongue. and the upper part
. called the barrel.
N"u- 81 the zinc pipes which are visible
% the screen or face Of the organ are
d.mmI"s. but most Of these too IRE speak
InE pipes. The screen itself Is Of beauti-
'.'y carved oak. carrying on the coloring
.r! fleet Of the wonderful choir stalls
. 80 below IT,
l" console. which corresponds to the
a"vnptrt Of u piano. ~ behind the tops
oh" choir stalls on the south side and is
r.1"t"d hy spiral iron stairway inside
'l- "rgan case, "A stairway so narrow
..at stout organist would either have
10 r"7Ign or else GO in for a perpetual
L"r'"n fast
'arv"d On the back Of the case il this
o. .r.r'lou.