Tweet
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that this Wikipedia article is entirely erronious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreckels_Organ
-
-
Re: Spreckles organ
Hi Austin,
As a charter member of the Spreckels Organ Society of San Diego, I can tell you that the Wikipedia article appears to be confusing the Spreckels Austin organ in San Diego with a similar outdoor installation in San Francisco.
Since Mr. Spreckels was an organ enthusiast, he may have helped to fund the San Francisco instrument as well; but I doubt that it was ever called the Spreckels organ.
I guess this reinforces the concept that one cannot assume the accuracy of information found on the internet. Oh well . . . -
Re: Spreckles organ
I thought the article was wrong, I was sure that Skinner wasn't involved with the Spreckles organ, and that the place of origin for that organ (Spreckels) was New Haven, CT, not Boston, MA.
Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
Its a 1914 Austin from Hartford, Conn with additions from Austin plus new console under curator Lyle Blackington including an independent 32 bombarde and a series of fiery festival trompettes by DAJ Broome of Austin and some other pipework.Video by Fred Hohman is excellent demo of that organs capability.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
In terms of ranks, which is bigger Spreckels or Kotzschmar?
Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
Portland Maine is way biggerComment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
I figured, it does have five manuals, versus Spreckels four, though by most any definition they are both quite large organs, though compared with the likes of Wanamaker and ACCH, well, let's not go there.
Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
The Kotzschmar organ is pretty immense - all the more remarkable for the fact that it has no Pedal! (sort of...) [;)]Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
Hey now, Soubasse! It at least has a Magnaton!And only the new console is 5 manuals, the prior consoles were both 4. The organ does have 5 manual divisions, if you count the Echo. The thinking for the new console was to prepare for a Positiv division, though I hesitate to wonder they would put it.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
[quote user="odellorgans"]Hey now, Soubasse! It at least has a Magnaton![/quote]
Does the organist have towear a lead-lined apron when that thing goes off? [:D]
Regardingthe Pedal, it is a bit confusing. The FOKO website doesn't show how many pipes each stop has, but they mention the Pedal only has 24 pipes - which I assume are two extended stops.
One CD I have shows the Pedal has an Open Diapason (85 pipes), a Violone (85 pipes), and a Contre Bombarde (97 pipes). Then there is a 16' Viole Celeste (24 pipes), and a 16' Gedeckt (12 pipes).
Another CD I have shows the Pedal has "0 stops, 0 ranks, 24 pipes" and over that I have written in pencil "36 pipes" - I'm not sure how I calculated that. [8-|]
BothCDs were recorded prior to the reappearance of the Magnaton.
I see that when the new console went in, changes were made to the specification (renamingseveral stops), a Mixturewasadded, and MIDI appears everywhere. Some "collective" stops were added for convenience.
My preference of course would havebeen to restore the entire instrument to its 1927 state. I would much prefer a replica of the 1927 console rather than that oversized one that seems moreappropriate fora church, and totally unrelated to the worlds of 1912/1927.
Unless the stopname changes are restorative, why do it? For example, I see several stops named Fernfloete changed to Fern Flute.
I just don't understand why something that is of such great historical value and rarityneeds to conform to modern tastes. Mixtures,MIDI, and a hugedrawstop consolemight be nice, but in this case it seems like gilding the lily! And it is a lily that is all the more charming because of the quaintness of its stoplist and sound.
Ah well... I'm just a voice in the wind.
This - by far -is my favorite Austin.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
[quote user="soubasse32"]Regarding the Pedal, it is a bit confusing. The FOKO website doesn't show how many pipes each stop has, but they mention the Pedal only has 24 pipes - which I assume are two extended stops.
One CD I have shows the Pedal has an Open Diapason (85 pipes), a Violone (85 pipes), and a Contre Bombarde (97 pipes). Then there is a 16' Viole Celeste (24 pipes), and a 16' Gedeckt (12 pipes).
Another CD I have shows the Pedal has "0 stops, 0 ranks, 24 pipes" and over that I have written in pencil "36 pipes" - I'm not sure how I calculated that. [8-|]
Both CDs were recorded prior to the reappearance of the Magnaton.
I see that when the new console went in, changes were made to the specification (renaming several stops), a Mixture was added, and MIDI appears everywhere. Some "collective" stops were added for convenience.
My preference of course would have been to restore the entire instrument to its 1927 state. I would much prefer a replica of the 1927 console rather than that oversized one that seems more appropriate for a church, and totally unrelated to the worlds of 1912/1927.
Unless the stopname changes are restorative, why do it? For example, I see several stops named Fernfloete changed to Fern Flute.
I just don't understand why something that is of such great historical value and rarity needs to conform to modern tastes. Mixtures, MIDI, and a huge drawstop console might be nice, but in this case it seems like gilding the lily! And it is a lily that is all the more charming because of the quaintness of its stoplist and sound.
Ah well... I'm just a voice in the wind.
This - by far - is my favorite Austin.
[/quote]
I can't speak to the wisdom (or lack thereof) of any changes to stop nomenclature or decisions about the console. And I have to agree that as organs of this size go, the Pedal seems almost absurdly small by comparison. Despite this, the organ is quite effective. There have been major changes to the stage area and how acoustics are handled, and there have been changes to the organ over the years, some sympathetic, some not.
This console was one of my early projects when I took over the department and all the decisions had been made beforehand. My understanding is that FOKO was in the driver's seat regarding the major decisions regarding the style and size console they ordered from Hartford.
I would point out that at the time, bids from competing builders were being seriously considered; thus there was considerable pressure to give in to client requests. By this time Hartford had all but stopped building the "Style B" consoles (curved nameboards) and the company was attempting to introduce a new design for their drawknob models based on a wooden frame system (as opposed to the old steel frame system). Among other things, there were several engineering issues that had to be worked out in this new design in order to get the Austin manuals to mount properly in the carcase. In a typical Austin metal console frame, the bottom manual is declined by two degrees, resting on a rear cross-member that is slightly lower than the front. In this configuration, each manual inclines two degrees, setting Manual II flat, and each subsequent manual inclined. The new keydesk was set at a single level, making it necessary to back cut the key cheeks of Manual I to set the proper angle prior to installing the keystack. Historically, Austin manuals were mounted in the console between two steel plates, but these were only produced in 2, 3 and 4 manual configurations. Special mounting was required for the Kotchmar console.
I do recall that more than a couple of us regarded the request for a 5th manual (the company had only built two other 5 manuals in its history) with a raised eyebrow, as well as the request to prepare for the additional division.
Despite the outsize requirements of the Kotchmar organ, this is not the largest Austin console ever built. That distinction belongs to the one built for Irvine Auditorium at UPENN.
Oh, and of course, the Magnaton actually came from the Austin at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
I'm not sure I grasp exactly what you mean by the "curved name plate" on the "style B" Austin Console, could you post a picture, or a link to one of what you mean, and a "Style B" Console?
Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
I think that he means curved "name board" or "stop board" or "stop rail"? Somewhat like the "church" or "formal" version of a horseshoe concept.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
Thanks Ed, for the behind-the-scenes info - very interesting!
I've got many recordings of Austins, have made some recordings on Austins, and took my first lessons on an Austin. Of all of these, the Kotzschmar seems to be the most well-balanced and musical; ,it tilts towards an "antique" sound, which is entirely appropriate and charming for period literature. That style of organ is very rare these days, so I'm glad for the preservation work even though I disagree with the console situation.
It wouldn't feel like an Austin, without inclined keyboards and those rows of stop-tabs. [:)]
Those old Austin consoles were built like tanks - it is too bad they couldn't refurbish the old one. My suspicions are that they probably could have done so but something - someone - intervened.
Considering the lack of independent Pedal stops, the Pedal is quite adequate indeed!
I really hope to hear this instrument in person one day.Comment
-
Re: Spreckles organ
a.k.a the typical Austin console of at least the last probably 80 years or so. Ya' could've just said a typical style Austin console, Ed, and I would've uinderstood exactly what you meant, not exactly striklingly beautiful, but, sort of like the Holtkamp console, it grows on you the more you see it, and begin to really understand things from the organist perspective, rather than just aesthetic.
Comment
Comment