The Wanamaker Organ Part 2 - The Fine Details
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- - Music by Fran Blanche -
I am back to see the Wanamaker Organ again, this time looking at how the organ works. Thanks to Scott Kip and Matthew Taft for showing me more of this one-of-a-kind instrument!
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Scott is trying NOT to diss the Atl;antic city organ... THAT is an enthusiast. He's proud of what he does, but he knows the people in charge of the Atlantic city organ are kindred spirits :)
That... rocks
The Wanamaker Organ has a sink inside of it. I doubt any other organ has one.
ya that organ is kinda working the wanamaker organ is fully functional
This is amazing. I'm so grateful that the two of you took the time to film the underside of the wind chest. The grid-switching arrangement of the pneumatics is outstanding, but it didn't make a bit of sense until you got a close look at it. Thank you so much!
(Also, I'd never be able to play that organ because of how close the console is to the railing. Fear of heights strikes again!)
The Budco Goldman Theatre (English spelling) used to show a film with Philadelphia Orchestra Conductor Leopold Stokowski performing on the great Wanamaker Organ. I'm alive with memories of Christmas' past, from the Wanamaker Christmas Shows. Many thanks, Fran for producing what may very well be the best documentary regarding this wonderful instrument.
Thanks Fran! This is super fascinating stuff to see.
amazing. i love the combination of electronic, mechanical, and pneumatic... thanks fran!! :D
so that's how the 11th Doctor spends his down time
Playing this organ--one absolutely listens while playing! But, this is after the notes have been played. Sort of a true joke that when you make a mistake you just have to wait to hear it. String division (due to how those pipes speak?) sort of "try hard to catch up to you" when you play fast running passages.
An amazing instrument, but I'm always in awe of the musicians that can play it so well and keep it all straight in their hands, feet, and heads!
Very impressive setup. Next time I get up to Philly I should stop by and check it out in person. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for asking intelligent questions about how the system works.
I would not think i was particularly interested in organ related stuff but this is acutally very interesting.
I was a bit on edge with him seemingly being a bit rough with it at some points but i guess it was built to last and he is the guy who repairs it so i guess its fine. The younger guy was pretty good too, you could tell he is actually interested in it and why not its a cool piece of 100 year old retro hardware.
Been looking forward to this followup, and was absolutely worth the wait. Thanks so much for the behind-the-scenes tour of this amazing machine!
So, to play such an organ, do you need to upgrade your brain or...
itsGeorgeAgain No. it’s not that bad. I’ve not played one like this, but I learned on a 5 manual Skinner.
"vacuum reservoir" I love that haha. Inspiring, interesting stuff! thank you all so much for the tour.
Brilliant! I would so love to walk around that extraordinary instrument
Hello Fran,
Many thanks for part 2 of this fantastic video you made.
Greetings from Roel.
Inside the Wind Chests, at 54 minutes, you can see how much dust has made it's way into the windpipes. The bit you can see is only a fraction of what is already in there. I'm an engineer, not an organ expert but this problem could cause premature loss of sound quality. Have you engineers considered fitting renewable/replaceable air filters to the blowers?You have some fantastic filtration experts in the USA who may advise on this. What do you think please? Thanks, Frank.
Typically reed pipes are the one's prone to dust getting caught between the reed tongue and the shallot. Things like moths and other insects occasionally get caught in reed pipes too.
The Wanamaker has several people that work on it every day, to keep it maintained and in tune. There have been "pipe washing" parties in other installations to physically clean the pipes.
Though it can quite costly, when the time comes, complete ranks are sent out and reworked by a reputable pipe manufacturing company.
WOW Scott is amazing and you can tell he really likes what hes doing, there are so few of these left and its nice to see them in great hands like Scott's!! Fran Please tell him Thank YOU for showing You and US around !!! Cow}:-o)
I never realized the complexity of this instrument and so many ( massive parts ) parts for a mammoth instrument. PRICELESS *
@18:58 Keith Chapman.... an absolute legend. Amazing organist.
Unfortunately he was killed in a plane crash at just 43. Do check out his videos if you get the chance.
Here's an example of him flipping all of the tabs by hand in the 80s. And it shows his quick wit at the beginning too:
th-cam.com/video/d9x6kwl_rSw/w-d-xo.html
You should get a tour of the larger organ in Atlantic City.
Aeolian-Skinner had a proposal for the Stentor (manual 6) division that was not realized as Rodman Wanamaker died before a builder was commissioned. see wanamakerorgan.com/stoplist/ which lists where to get a book on the subject.
Fran, Scott, and Matt: Thank you SO much for this inside look at the Wanamaker Organ.
Imagine ... you're playing the largest organ in the world. The light at the console blinks urgently so you stop playing and answer the phone. "I'm just letting you know that your warranty will expire soon...."
Thank you to 1 and ALL, I just Love ❤ Pipe Organ,s and their Music 🎶 🎵 ❤!!!!!!
Dang. Hundreds of amps at 12v. They either have a copper mine on their hands, or voltage drop must be a bear. 👍️
Excellent videos about a fascinating subject! Thanks, Fran!
I should have also said.... the pneumatics require atmospheric filtering.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing some gaseous state of the art tech! (well, a hybrid!)
That was great I sure hope you bought Scott supper or a beer at least...looking forward to part 3
Tungsten filiaments - as God intended.
Lorenzo Boyd Not according to the candle maker.
That Organ is amazing piece of history !! that building is beautiful .
Imagine you were working in one of the lofts with thousands of small pipes, and you tripped and fell on them. lol
Brilliant production, think Ill just stick to rocket science though........
Great to see the intricacies of something like that. Lovely mix of technologies.
Not an armature. It is a valve. It controls the flow of a gas. Opens or closes a channel to the atmosphere.
YYYYAY the EASY WINNERS AGAIN AND I am in NJ, closer to the Wanamaker organ love it AND the NJ organ is not as fully functioning as baby here the Wanamaker!! Built over the Ocean the atmosphere/ environment is against the NJ organ, it isnt as fully functioning as this Wanamaker!!!
Fran, thanks for doing this. You always make it interesting
HEY YES gee Fran Blanche magnificent idea and production, thorough!!!!!!!
WOW..... I just realized, I started watching part two...LOL.... That is really neat that they went those extra steps to explain things and took items apart to further the explanation of the clock works, so to speak. I have always heard the stories of how "MOSTEROUSLY NIGHTMARE-ISH" one of these are, to not only build, but to keep running. I will watch part one here in moment, but, I also heard that these can take weeks, if months to turn. There is one in London somewhere, and it took something like 15 years to revamp, LOL.... you would likely know more about that than I would... I have thrown my back out about 4 different times, trying to load an organ in the back of my truck, that was set out to be taken away to the trash collection... Of course, I would knock on the door, requesting, if I could have it, just so I could get it home and take it apart to see what makes'em tick.. I must say, the organs that I have taken apart, that were throw aways from schools or churches, were neat, but nothing like this unit in your video... You do some really neat videos, but I think, this one (part two) has been the most interesting as I am sure part one will be just as much, and you make some interesting videos... If you see these folks that allowed you to venture so deep into this, let them know, that I really appreciate their effort on this, (I am sure you already have on your own behalf)... Thank you for this one. Now..... on to part one, heck, I think I am gonna make a bag of popcorn, and make it a movie night...LOL... I love this kinda of stuff
that console is just amazing, it probably takes more time to learn than a 747 cockpit
To get to know all the ranks well, probably yes. But the manuals / setzer system / pedalboard are just default organ things. Anyone who calls themselves organist won’t need much time to get working with those parts. Only finding the right registers will take a bit.
@8:36 Those lamps appear to be GE Lumiline or Philips Lumiline II bulbs. No longer manufactured, and more rare than hens teeth.
A LED replacement is available here: www.lumilinelives.com/
Fascinating. My question how does the actual musical notation handle the vast number of stops? Is that left up to the discretion of the organist?
The choice of stops depends by knowledge of authors and the personal study path. It is called "art of registration". By the way effect stops (like whistle train - ophicleide) is not properly suggested for classic scores. Starting from romantic authors the stops indication was indicated into score. Before that period nothing indication was written.
I'll hope clear my english!
I'm surprised I missed this video when it was published. I really enjoyed it. I kept on thinking this would be sooo much easier using modern technology like ethernet cables for signaling, but fair play to them for maintaining it (more or less) as it was originally built.
Didn't know you were an organ lover. They are magnificent instrument, I used to play a bit.
When I was young I made an electronic one with 88 x ICL8038, what an adventure.
Thanks for the video.
When I was a kid, my dad found an old player piano in a barn. The rubber tubing was mostly rotted, so he rebuilt it with aquarium tubing. The soundboard was cracked and it was hard to stay in tune, but we ultimately had about 100 rolls which we could play.
Thought I remembered this = you getting an "inside tour" of the organ, Fran, think I saw it a few years ago...or another one (?) you did on that fantastic beast of a pipe organ...loved listening to Virgil Fox play it...
Watching this again. The origins of that organ came from my home town, St Louis. It was in a large concert hall in the 1904 world's fair.
It's fascinating to see it now. Thank you.
Absolutely fabulous Fran, thank you so much for all that you do. This was a particular delight!!!! Love ya!!!l Adrain in Bermuda!!!
Hi, Fran. My grandfather, William, was sent from the Wanamaker store in NY to Phila to build the organ and was the chief caretaker until he retired in 1966. Thank you for these terrific videos.
That is a truly amazing machine. I was strugling to understand the cycle of events when he was explaning them at the console, but when he showed the valving arangement in the wind chest it just clicked. I guess it clicked because it uses the same principal of fluid dynamics as somthing I know somthing about hydraulic systems. Funny how vastly different aplications can be understood by knowing basic principals.
My brain hurts! What a work of art.
That was great Fran. I love learning more about The Wanamaker Grand Court Pipe Organ.
neatest Fran video yet. awesome, thank you. Our Greek Orthodox Church up in Erie PA burned to the ground, and it had a "little" organ.. one of the best, Fran. you are.
Thot I had seen this in the past....or at least had seen some others doing it online...LUV U Frannie...
And one of the items on my Bucket List is to get up there to see that beast!
17:40 go bring me Beethoven motherfuckers!!
There’s a lot of conflation of acoustic delay and the minimal mechanical delay and the speech of low pitches. A modern electrical system is speed of light, there is no discernible delay.
That was awesome! Thank you Fran.
Love this instrument, I've been to (many) performances since ( Keith Chapman ) performed on this Magnificent Instrument to present day with Mr. Conte
Is it just me, or does Scott Kip look just like the Matt Smith Dr. Who?
USWaterRockets He does a bit!
If ever you get the chance to go back I would love to see more of the electrical / electronic side of the control system :) This is a very impressive instrument :)
Got to love the smell of old electrics and wood.
Wow. That was awesome and very interesting.
Seeing inside it and the details of the pneumatics especially how it is a gridded type system was really amazing to see as I didn't know it was done this way.
Thanks heaps. 😉👌
Lovely video thanks. I believe I’ve seen you do video on fm radio, very educational.
Fran, thank you so much for taking the time to produce and upload this second installment as it was such a fascinating exploration behind the scenes! I was among those really hoping you might have the opportunity to finish this project as was most envious of your tour!
Thanks Fran, that was truly fascinating and amazing simultaneously.. the matrix box at the end, wow..
Thank you for doing this video, I had no idea what was involved with the creation, and maintenance of an organ.
Way cool, thanks for the inside look of this awesome piece of equipment.
Fantastic thank you very much
This is awesome! Thank you for sharing this. It's amazing that instruments this complex were built and maintained over 100 years ago, and it's interesting to see how they are modernized and maintained today. I have a feeling that if pipe organs were invented today instead of a long time ago, they would have been deemed too costly and would have been all digital instead. I'm happy that's not the case!
I'm also really glad that you took the time to unscrew all those screws and show the underside of the wind chest. Very interesting and informative!
Scott Joplin - The Easy Winners at the beginning. Love it.
Those low bass notes come out of the organ pipe like when you blow bubbles ( soap bubbles), some of them are 10 feet in diameter - - imagine if they weren't invisible, huge bubbles of bass sound!
Sound, no matter which frequency, is made up of air pressure waves transmitting through the space. Like if you drop something small in a bucket of water, the way the waves proceed through the water, is similar to sound. But then in 3 dimensions. And the sound gets reflected by any object in the mirrored direction. So that has not so much to do with soap bubbles.
Just don't take the ama out of it!
Eek! Attack of the birds!!
How do i get a job there? I want to be an organ mechanic.
I doubt it that they will take any random person for the wanamaker organ. Maybe start at an organ builders school and work your way up, instead of wanting to start at the greatest organ in the world apparently without any organ mechanic jobs on your resume 😉
Greetings from The Colony, Texas. Good Video.
how many amps of 5 and 12 volts are used for the control circuits? must be a hugh power supply??
tekvax No there are several DC supplies throughout the instrument to keep current loads nominal.
Woah....and I thought Em6 add 9 was annoying on guitar. Really cool. Thanks for the share Fran.
Keyboards/manuals are easier than guitar in my opinion. As all the notes sit in a structured order next to each other. If you can play 2 octaves then you can also play 5 of them, and the amount of manuals is irrelevant for the keyboard-playing skill (aside of knowing to which manual to switch to then). On a guitar you have to switch string every 5 semitones and the top 2 strings are shifted one semitone.
Can you imagine if the people that worked on the organ were all killed in some terrible accident, and someone had to learn how this organ worked from scratch? lol
PointyTailofSatan There are more than one or two on the planet. If all organ builders were bumped off you would expect the rest of humanity wouldn’t be alive either.
That was actually quite breathtaking! Thanks Fran.
My friend and associate played this instrument at age 12. Years later he spent many a time with Virgil Fox exploring this vast instrument.
I didn't see it at first but I am curious to know if the Hammond Clock still sits on top of this console?
@@DandyDon1 Yes it does, there is just a glimpse of it as Matt is explaining the upper manuals.
Wow !!! Seriously. ... WoW!!!
Very interesting!
Sorry for this comment but this is a very amateuristic explanation
And what genius are you then to say that?
Imagine a 256' organ pipe, that wouldn't even play probably.
You'd probably have to feed it with a jet engine.
64’ = 8hz, 128’ would be 4hz, 256’ = 2hz then. 2 air bursts a second. I don’t know if that outcome will be worth all the money and effort to build it 😅 256 feet is nearly 80 meters. The bottom would need to be half a meter thick wood to keep the rest of the pipe upright, and a concrete foundation under it to prevent it from sinking into the ground. And the air supply yes..
Your the best Fran. What a great video!
Hmmm! 64 foot pipes! I want one at home. (Scare the ---- out of the neighbors!)
64’ is 19.5 meters. If you put the bottom in the basement then the top will still be sticking out of the roof of a 2 story house with attic 😛
A 64 foot open pipe speaks at 8 Hz, which is more felt than heard.
new patron and long time viewer. thnx
Wow Fran,,, thanks
+skycarl My parents, neighbors, cousins, and myself, used to attend the John Wanamaker Department Store Christmas shows every year, and conclude the day with a shopping spree which took place throughout much of Center City Philadelphia. The show was accompanied by a light display - back in the day!
Yay, finally it´s there. Very interesting series
Love this. Matt is the cutest! :)
Thanks Fran. Brilliant as always.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
what a fascinating instrument
and I made that organ
Who has the biggest organ?
The Wanamaker and Atlantic City Midmer-Losh organ are the two biggest instruments.
Like the video literally starts at that topic. If you don’t bother watching the video then why bother proceeding showing interest in the topic?
Fabulous! Thank you all.
Mine is the biggest.
Just amazing, Fran.
what an amazing instrument