, 1935-10-21
WANTS REAL ORGAN
IN FAIR AUDITORIUM

HA1AAAMN ~ AAAEN8AAAAAM ma 0AMMAA 40
the Fair Grounds Auditorium IN
Harlingen. now In process Of re-
construction.
I believe that II would be q won
derful thing 70 have an organ
there. Its uses would be many In
the Valley, there Is not one single
instrument available where q good
and well-knoxn organist could
present q concert, II the occasion
demanded, or presented itself. The
Auditorium In Harlingen, centrally
located 70 the Valley, affords our
only gathering place where concert
artists and road shows may BE- pres
ented where time for engagements
must be limited 10 one or two night
stands. An organ IN this building
would be q distinct advantage and q
cultural asset. Broadcast lines could
be installed 70 give Valley radio
audiences daily concerts.
But. the gentleman who inform
ed the committee which has the
question under advisement that one
OF the finest instruments available
today can be had for 5000 Is either
laboring under a sad misapprehen-
sion or else he has been misinform-
ed. No such thing Is plausible. II Is
quite true that an excellent organ
can be bought for 5000. But the
fact Is. that It would be q very small
instrument OF the type ordinarily
best suited for residence or small
church installations. The modern
organ In little understood by the
public at large. There are four dis
tinct groups under which organs
may be classified: church, residence.
theater and auditorium. OF these,
the church organ Is the least versa
tile OF all-it Is designed exclusively
for hymns, TO support congregation
al singing, and occasional fll-in
solo work. The average church or
gan M not a large instrument: itS
requirements being few, smaller
companies building them At COM
p~aratively low cost. The theater or
gar. and In some cases. the audit
ortum organ, are the most versatile,
for the obvious reason that more
and wider demands are placed upon
them. Especially IN the theater. are
all types Of music played on organs
from stomp Jazz TO the deepest
classics. OF course, the organ Ia not
a Jazz instrument. Many people
abhor this type OF music played on
an organ. Many others find 10 their
favorite In this modern kind OF
instruments. But the fact remains
that for wide versatility, for every
kind OF music. the theater organ =
all-embracing. with, Of course, some
straight auditorium organs.
The Aeolian Organ company an
nounced. some time ago, o very
small and compact organ. designed
for residence use. which used a pipe
chamber no larger than q closet.
All the pipes fitted into this small
space. This was, OF course, a very
small instrument and retailed for
about 5000. They also announced
q small organ built into a case
resembling. and a little larger than,
a grand piano. for the same price
range.
Ordinarily, however, these midget,
or portable organs, are no more
than that.
Every good organist In the United
States, or everyone who knows any
thing about modern organs, knows
that the Wurlitzer organ Is far and
away superior TO any other organ
manufactured today. The lowest
priced organ wurlitzer makes, I
understand, IN around s6.O00-a
small residence organ There Is
practically no limit to how high the
cost OF an organ can 80. II Is limit
ed only as TO it's size. / suppose one
could 20 on and on with the size
OF an organ until It would I'LL up
the Yankee Stadium with pipes
and the cost, peculiarly enough,
would be just about as hugel The
auditorium I'm the Harrington fair-
grounds does not need such an or
ran. But II does need a good one.
IN there is 10 be any at all. And no
one disputes the fact that Il would
Be mighty nice to have one. But
not for 5000, or anywhere near II.
For that figure, one might be able
TO buy a small organ that could be
PLAYED for hymns-little more. II Is
quite possible that occasions might
arise when hymns would be played
on it-but certainly. there would De
many other occasions when some
thing else might be played. III we
are ever TO hear a well-known or
rannst perform down here, we must
furnish q decent instrument for him
10 perform upon, else We simply
don't hear any at all. As q matter
Of fact. Jesse Crawford, revered by
the public and acknowledged By
critics TO be the greatest Of the lT-
ing organists, carries the question
even further. he refuses 70 play
ANYTHING but a Wurlitzer organl
And this Ia very understandable 70
anyone who knows any OF the m
SIDE workings Of an organ. He says
frankly enough. that II Il quite I'M
possible for him 70 achieve his ef-
fects on anything but a WurhtSer,
and this Is very true.
This matter OF type In an organ
cannot be overemphaSized. Surely
ne must not make the mistake en-
countered bv a certain Texas city
after A was too late to do anything
about II. IN this case. the committee
which passed the specifications Tor
the organ for their municipal
auditorium evidently knew nothing
Of the differences OF types. The re-
suit was that they spent around
10000 for one OF the south's largest
organs. They got much quantity
but NO quality. The organ. wnen
II vas installed by one OF the minor
builders. was discovered 70 sound
ike a greatly multiplied church Or
gan, and not q particularly GOOD
one at that. II was then too late
10 know that n church organ II
not well suited for various con-
certs. or that the best builders
would not have touched JOB OF
that sire for less than $4,000.
one Of the leading manufacturers
= personally much prefer Wurlitz-
er As does almost any other organ
ist-could build and install IN the
auditorium nc Harlingen. q very
MMM - AMM MMn