Fine cathedral organ, article (Auburn Telegraph and others, 1906-03-15).txt

Fine cathedral organ, article (Auburn Telegraph and others, 1906-03-15).txt

Instrument Fa r Kevr Episcopa l Cathedra
l Wil l Be One of th e Most
POTT erf ul In th e World—Hope-Jone s
System of Tone Producing; Will Be
fcsed—The Gift of Mr. an d Mrs. Lev i
P. Morton.
An organ which is designed to be one
of the most powerful in the world has
been ordered by the authorities of the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
N e w York."" It is to cost $50,000 and
is to be constructed with funds contributed
by Mr. and Mrs. Levi P.
Morton, say s the New York Times.
The instrument is to be built Jointly
by Robert Hope-Jones, who constructed
the organ In Worcester cathedral in
England, now known as the most powerful
in the world, and Ernest M. Skinner,
builder of the organs In Grace
church, New York, and Plymouth
church, Brooklyn. Mr.
% Hope-Jones
came to America about a year ago and
has since entered into a corporation, of
which Mr. Skinner is the head. They
have built a factory in Boston, and
there the big cathedral organ will be
constructed.
No plans hav e been drawn for the
instrument. The authorities of the
cathedral chose the builders they
thought could serve them best and
told them to construct the finest instrument
they could turn out.
In building this organ Mr. Hope -
Jone s will us e for the first time in the
United States the method for produci
ng tones which he first employed in the
Worcester cathedral and sinc e in the
organs in Edinburgh town hall and
Llandaff cathedral. This method has
been a subject of controversy in Great
Britain for year s and will probably
caus e much discussion in America.
Mr. Hope-Jones discards reed pipes,
which depend for their tone s upon the
vibration under air pressure of a metal
tongue against an opening in the pipe.
He wa s formerly an electrical enginee r
and employed his knowledge of mechanics
in producing sounds. He use s
springs, valve s and cylinders and operate
s the organ by electricity.
He procures the puffing, or beating of
the air current into his resonators, by
means of a devic e that reminds one of
the piston of an engine. With an electric
blower as a propelling powe r for
the traveling rod and mechaulcal devices
to insure its quick return this
piston works up and down, alternately
admitting and excluding the air and
thus causing vibrations that sound the
required notes in the air chambers.
T he builder declares that he can ge t
more uniform tones than are possible
with reeds, because he can govern with
certainty his air current.
H is device had a trial last spring In
St. Patrick's cathedral when Mr. HopeJone
s put up a dozen resonators and
gav e an opportunity for a comparison
of his organ with reeds. The result
of this trial has been the order by the
authorities of the Cathedral of St.
John the Divine.
A special electrical plant for this
organ will be Installed, and huge blowers
will be put in to furnish the air. It
Is probable that some of the resonators
will be remarkable in themselves.
Some of those used in the Worceste r
cathedral extend far underneath the
floor, and the tone produced by some
of them fairly shake s the building.
Mr. Hope-Jones use s cubes, oblongs,
spheres and other shapes for his resonators,
and for the basic tone a great
air spac e is necessary.

1906-03-15