International projectionist (Jan 1963-June 1965)

the heavy, dull monotone of the classical organ. The wind pressure needed to make an organ pipe speak is not very great. But in order to provide adequate pressure in all the wind chests at all times, permitting the full organ to be played, a large motordriven blower is required. This is usually located in the cellar of the theatre, the wind being conducted into the wind chests of the organ by air-tight conduits. Variety of Organ Pipes A glance into an organ chamber will disclose rows upon rows of pipes in great variety. Some look like conventional diapason pipes, others are gently tapered, some look like trumpets, while still others are square wooden pipes. Each row is evenly graduated in the length of its pipes from the tallest giants down to the tiniest ones the size of lead pencils. Tin is the preferred material for pipes of the "string" class — the violin, viol d'amour. cello, aeoline. dulciana. gamba, viola, salicional. voix celeste, etc. Not ordinary tinplated iron, but pure block tin. Other materials include brass, copper, lead, zinc, and wood for both "flue" and "reed" pipes, the latter having vibrating reeds to produce the tone. All of the "flutes" in an organ are flue pipes which have no reeds, but venerate a vibrating column of air. Some are open at the top, while others, an octave lower in pitch for the same length, are closed off at the top by stoppers. Among the organ flutes we find the orchestral flute, piccolo, melodia. and the soulful tibia, which is a stopped wooden pipe very characteristic of the theatre organ — intimately "throaty" and "cooing." and often played solo during tear-jerking scenes in silent movies. A large part of the organ, however. is made up of the reed pipes of many shapes and sizes. These range from the powerful stentorphone to the delicate vox humana, and include the trumpet, cornet, trombone, clarinet, bugle. French horn, English horn, muted horn, basoon, concertina, tuba, saxophone, and a whole familv of organ oboes. If the organist wishes to play a passage of music "full organ," using all of the ranks coupled together, he does not have to reach up and flick all of the stop tabs. He has only to touch a pre-set button under the keyboard— and so with all other stop registrations he may have selected beforehand for each of the keyboards. "Theatre-Organ Style" In general, theatre-organ music is distinguished from other kinds by its variety, use of the vibrato, open harmony, accented rhythm, and by a legato solo-type melody with glissandos to provide melting, gliding transitions from one note to another. The late Jesse Crawford, renowned self-taught organist at the old Chicago Theatre in silent-movie days, probably did more than any other organist to develop the characteristic style of theatre-organ music. The theatre organ is often called the "Mighty Wurlitzer" because Wurlitzer pipe organs were acknowledged leaders in the field. But there were many others, just as there used to be a dozen makes of projectors on the market in more prosperous days. The Robert Morton organ, for example, was considered one of the very finest. The tonal beauty of its strings, tibias. and melodias has never been surpassed. Then there was the Marr & Colton. the Barton. Kilgen. Moller, and Kimball. Some of the orchestral organs used in theatres were modest 6 and 7-rank jobs; others were 20 and 30-rank giants. The Radio City Music Hall Wurlitzer. mightiest of all. comprises 58 ranks of pipework housed in eight large organ chambers ! The fascinating musical magic of many famous theatre organs, including the Music Hall colossus, is available via SS^-RPM phonograph records, both monaural high-fidelity and stereophonic. And before commenting on the content of some of these records, the writer wishes to transmit a word of warning to the unwary. Warning No. 1. Quite a few phonograph records in the low-price category are inferior soundwise and, worse, are mislabeled and pirated. Special attention is directed to a long-play record titled "Organ Fantasies— Jesse Crawford." This includes ten selections, five of which are played on an electronic organ by God-knows-whom, and the other five are re-recordings of the Keith Memorial pipe organ in Boston played by John Kiley. The record jacket states specifically that this is all the music of Jesse Crawford — which is simply not true. Kiley's playing, by the way, has also been reissued on other discs as the work of "Merlin." Caveat emptor! — "Let the buyer beware!" Warning No. 2. An electronic organ is not an orchestral pipe organ. No electronic organ ap proaches the theatre organ in tonal range, versatility, and beauty. The pipe organ has both sweetness and majesty; the electronic organ lacks in both qualities. No matter how skillful the organist, no matter how closely certain pipe-organ effects are imitated, the synthetic character and musical limitations of the electronic organ are always apparent. This is a point worth keeping in mind, inasmuch as several famous organists have recorded on both types of instrument, and the record labels do not always tell which has been used. Only true orchestral pipe-organ recordings are reviewed below. Nevertheless, we recognize the importance of the electronic organ in its own field, particularly for novelty jazz. One of the most "organ-sounding" electronic-organ recordings we have heard recently is "Organ Songs We Love" played by Eddie Baxter on the lowrey Organ. I Dot DIP-25435. stereo. ) It is very good and suitable for theatre use. but it is still an electronic organ. A Few Long-Play Pipe-Organ Records Suitable for the Theatre Note: Records are rated for their suitability for theatre use as follows. *** Just great. ** Pretty good. * Only fair, or of limited usefulness. *** POET AT THE PIPE ORGAN, Jesse Crawford. Decca DL-8565 (monaural). Irving Berlin's best oldies masterfully interpreted by the late Jesse Crawford at his finest. The sensitive artistry of the "poet of the organ" is displayed on the Lorin Whitney Studio Pipe Organ. (Needle-tracking difficulties have been noted with this disc if the record player is not perfectly level.) Highly recommended. ** THE SOUND OF JESSE CRAWFORD, Jesse Crawford. Decca DL-4028 (monaural). Broadway and movie show tunes of more recent vintage styled by the inimitable Crawford in a somewhat slow and pensive tempo. ** OVER THE RAINBOW, Jesse Crawford. Decca DL-8984 (monaural). A treasure chest of dreamily romantic Crawford stylings of older popular stand-bys. Crawford's tempo is terribly slow, unlike his playing 30-some years ago. Hear this record and use your own judgment as to the film programs suited to its use. * GOLDEN OPERA FAVORITES, Jesse Crawford. Decca DL-4301 (monaural). An impeccable disc, but accorded only one star here only because as it seems just a mite too "classical" for routine use in the theatre. It comprises well-known melodies from grand opera (whence come some of our very best tunes), and is suitable for a subdued dramatic mood. If you appreciate a very fine pipe organ played by a real maestro, listen to this one whether you play it in the theatre or not ! ** PIPE ORGAN MAGIC, Jesse Crawford. RCA Camden CAL-300 (monaural). Wow, get a load of that slinky siren on the jacket! No, Jesse Crawford didn't look anything like that. She must be the International Projectionist February, 1963