The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-09

emple Emdnu-el CndpteT W HI ULfe Organ Fund for the Temple gan in religious interpretations, and later Germany and England did likewise The first organ of any pretension in England was erected in the Winchester cathedral in the tenth century. This in- strument was described at length in Q Latin poem by a monk named Wulstan. At that time the playing or operating of an organ was an ecclesiastical function performed by the monks. The organ at Winchester is described being manipu- lated by two brethren of coneordant spirit" The volume of sound produced must have been tremendous, for it is de- scribed as being heard throughout the town of Winchester, and anyone drawing near had to muffle his ears against this terrific blast.
 In the eleventh century at the cathe- dral in Magdebury in the first organ hay ing a keyboard was constructed. It is said to have had IS notes, but the keys were far different from the narrow strips of ivory of today. These first efforts con- sisted of a key or lever from three to five inches in width, and the action was so hard that it required a blow from the fist to operate it. Hence organists were called organ beaters."
 During about the 14th century or gans were placed in almost all the churches. The organ in the cathedral at Halberstadt, built in 1861 by Nich- olas Faber, a priest. was the most famous instrument of that lime. The wind for this organ was supplied by 20 bellows blown by 10 men. The in- troduetion of pedals, a keyboard for the feet occurred in the 18th century. About this time the four great funda- ments of organ tone were evolyed--the 'diapasons," flutes" strings" and reeds"
 Thus one organbuilder after another improved upon this complex instru- ment. Other keyboards with different pipes were added, then @ device was introduced by which certain set of pipes could be stopped at will-from this the term stop" was used to re- fer to any one set of pipes.
 The religious history of the 14th and 18th centuries with it's fanatieism and superstitions must have had a power ful influence on the music of that epoch. The organ builders coming un- der that influence made the music of their instruments appeal to the relig- ious fervor.
 It is impossible in this limited space to go into detail from century to cen tury and name the great organ build CTS, each one in turn adding his to the tithe of ingenuity toward the de- velopment of the majestic instrument.
 In England early in the 17th century organ building and music in general received a severe death blow due to the religious and political upheavals of the commonwealth. In 1643 it was ordained by parliament that all or gans and frames and cases wherein they stand in all churches and chapels aforesaid shall be taken away and ut terly defaced and none other hereafter set up in their places" In pursuance of which many organs were destroyed. At Westminster Abbey we are told Soldiers brake down organs and pawned the pipes at several ale houses for pots of ale"
 This puritanical prejudice against musical instruments compelled organ builders to turn to other trades. By the time of the Restoration fin England there were few who remembered at all anything of this art
 Later in ITO Father Smith and Re- natus Harris built organs In the churches in London. In Holland the celebrated organ at Haarlem was famous and the organist was in the habit of stripping like a blacksmith before giving performance which necessitated so much exertion. It be- came imperative to tighten the labors of the organist. and this was done by the invention of an Eng1ishman named Barker, who introduced a pneumatic ! lever into the construction of organs I in 1892.
 | In the great Industrial exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park, London, a French organ by Ducroquet with 20 stops, and a German organ by Scheltze of 15 stops, were installed. These organs at- tracted much attention. owing to the superiority of their tone quality.
 The first organ builder in America was John Clemm of Philadelphia, who built an organ for Trinity church in New York city in 1s41. 1t took two years to construct this instrument, As Trinity church has always been a lead CT in church music in America, the successive organs of that church would embody the history of organs in the United States
 Of recent years the development of organ building in the United States has proceeded at such q rapid rate that Fit is almost impossible to more than hint at it's progress and expansion. The organ of today with it's air chest, It's electrical equipment seems indeed a susquipedalian stride from the reed music of prehistoric times.
 The largest organs in the world are not in cathedrals or churches, but in concert halls. While as concert in- strument the organ fills a large and important place, it is in the church tslat it finds it's true sphere of useful ness and effectiveness.
 A full orchestra with its many diff ferent instruments Is embodied in large organ. and the organ player un- der the magic of his hand can produce the music of a hundred Instruments from the resourceful soul of one.
 The organ Is in truth the most mag nificent instrument invented by human genius II can express anything in re- sponse to skilled touch. To the in- tangible thoughts of soul the organ peals the great sounds of the infinite, to the aspirations of genius, to the religious hopes and ideals of the con- secTated The strains of the organ show a gleam into the spiritual life.