It is generally agreed upon that the world's oldest playable pipe organ is located in the Basilica of Valère in Sion, Switzerland. Built around 1435, most of the case is original, but only 12 pipes are original, as the rest have been replaced during restorations.[1]
It is said that the organ in the church of St. Andreas at Ostönnen (Westfalia, Germany) is even older than the organ mentioned above. Its wind chests and divisions date back to 1425 - 1430, and half the pipes are still original. However, the case and key action were rebuilt in the Baroque period.[1]
In the San Petronio Basilica in Bologna there is a Lorenzo da Prato organ built in 1475 with a lot of original stops, and is still playable after a restoration took place in 1986.
In the Old Cathedral (Duomo Vecchio) in Brescia (Italy) there is a Giangiacomo Antegnati (1536) - Fratelli Serassi (1826) organ. When in the 19th century the Antegnati was restored and enlarged, the priests of the church, in admiration of Antegnati masterpiece, asked Serassi to preserve all the old pipes.
The organ in Évora Cathedral in Portugal was built in 1562. Some of the materials used belong to a previous instrument from 1544. This organ is fully functional today. It had interventions in 1694 by Heitor Lobo, 1760 by Pasquale Gaetano Oldovini and 1967 Dirk Andries Flentrop.
In Wilhelmsburg Castle in Schmalkalden, Germany, there is a historic organ built between 1587 and 1589 by Daniel Meyer. Notably its facade pipes are veneered with ivory.
In Bälinge kyrka [sv] in Sweden, there is an organ built in 1632 with 51 pipes. It was constructed by George Herman (died ca 1655) and Philip Eisenmenger (died after 1657) in Stockholm. The Wood carvings on the facade were made by the German master carver Mårten Redtmer (died 1655), who also worked on the royal warship Wasa.
The Johann Woeckerl Organ in the Cathedral-Church of Saint-George in Sopron, Hungary, was built in 1633, but the pipes of its Holzflöte 8 stop were made in 1580. Among the church's congregation was Vitus "Veit" Bach, a miller whose great-great-grandson Johann Sebastian Bach would compose the most celebrated organ music in the world.
The organ of St Patrick's Cathedral is one of the largest in Ireland with over 4,000 pipes. Parts of it date from a Renatus Harris instrument of 1695.[2]
The oldest fully functional organ in The Netherlands is that by Jan van Covelen in the Laurenschurch, Alkmaar. This organ dates from 1511. [citation needed]
There are many methodologies for comparison of organs according to their size. One of the most encompassing methodologies was described by Michał Szostak.[4]
Civic and concert hall organs
Largest church organ per country
Organ South in Milan Cathedral (1395–1986).Tabernacle Organ in Salt Lake City, UT
Other notable church organs
The world's second largest church organ is at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, California. Like Passau Cathedral (five organs, one console), it consists of multiple organs playing from twin consoles. Now known as "The Great Organs at First Church," the instruments were installed over a period of approximately 70 years. As of 2023, The Great Organs at First Church consist of 18,094 speaking pipes, 328 ranks, 15 divisions, and a total of 278 speaking stops:
The Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Memorial Organ (Chancel) - The church's original instrument, a Skinner Organ built in 1931, is immediately visible upon entering the Sanctuary, flanking either side of the Chancel.
Frank C. Noon Memorial Organ (West Gallery) - In 1969, a Schlicker Organ was installed by Organist in residence, Lloyd Holzgraf. The organ's look and sound "enables the organist to capture the spirit and inspiration of the North German tradition of the 17th century."[41]
The Italian Division (Chancel) - A small Italian-style Continuo Organ built by Schlicker, situated adjacent to the South Choir of the Chancel.
The Holzgraf Trumpet Royale (Chancel) - These powerful trumpets were installed in 1984, in honor of Mr. Holzgraf's 25th Anniversary at First Church.
The Gospel and Epistle Divisions (North and South Transepts) - Under the direction of the famed Frederick Swann, Organist in Residence from 1998 to 2001, William Zeiler completed the installation of Divisions in the North Transept Gallery (Gospel) and the South Transept Gallery (Epistle), so that those attending services and concerts at First Church are now surrounded by music on four sides.
The Moller Consoles were installed during renovations in the early 1990s, replacing the original duplicate Schlicker consoles of 1969 which had become outdated and could no longer fully control the many new additions. The Chancel console, installed in 1992, is known to be one of the last works from the Moller firm, which closed its doors that same year.[42] Its twin, the Gallery console, was completed by former Moller craftsmen at the Hagertown Organ Company. The Moller Consoles are the largest draw-knob consoles ever built in the Western Hemisphere.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle organ in Utah is among the largest church organs in the United States and is considered to be one of the finest examples of the American Classic style of organ building.[43][44] Inspired by the design of the Boston Music Hall organ (now in Methuen, Mass.), the original organ was built in 1867 by Joseph Ridges. At that time, the instrument contained some 700 pipes and was constructed of locally derived materials as much as possible. The distinctive casework has become iconic from its association with the famous choir, and is easily recognized around the world. The pipes are constructed of wood, zinc, and various alloys of tin and lead. When it was initially constructed, the organ had a tracker action and was powered by hand-pumped bellows; later it was powered by water from City Creek. Today it is powered by electricity and has an electro-pneumatic action. Though the organ has been rebuilt and enlarged several times since 1867, the original iconic casework and some of Ridges' pipes still remain in the organ today.[45] The current organ is largely the work of G. Donald Harrison of the former Aeolian-Skinner organ firm. It was completed in 1948 and contains 11,623 pipes, 147 speaking stops and 206 ranks.[45]
Aside from the multiple 100" and 50" stops[9] on the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Auditorium organ, one of the most powerful organ stops in the world are the State Trumpet on the Great Organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City,[46] and the Trompette Millitaire and Tuba Magna on the organ of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, UK. Ophicleide (organ stop)[citation needed] These distinctive-sounding stops operate on 50" of wind pressure and are each as loud as an entire large organ played on their own. [citation needed]
The 1980-pipe Ferris Tracker organ in Round Lake, New York was originally built in 1847 for Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City. It was moved to the Round Lake Auditorium in 1888, and is considered to be the oldest and largest three-manual still intact in the United States.[47][48]
The largest fully mechanical pipe organ in Europe is located in the St. Laurenschurch in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. It has 4 Manuals, 5 Divisions, 85 Stops, 7600 Pipes and is 23 meters tall. The organ was completed in 1973, built by Marcussen & Søn from Denmark.
The largest mechanical action organ in North America is a 4 Manual, 5 Division, 74 stop instrument, with 6,616 pipes & 126 Ranks. The organ was built by Casavant Frères of St Hyacinthe, Quebec for the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Providence, Rhode Island in 1972. http://musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/etatsunis/providencespsp.html
Organs with notable construction methods
The Bamboo Organ at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Las Piñas, Philippines, some 12 km from downtown Manila, is made almost entirely of bamboo. The building of the organ was begun in 1816 by the Spanish Augustinian Recollect, Fr. Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen, and completed in 1824. It has been damaged repeatedly over the years but always restored. After its restoration in 1975 by Johannes Klais (Bonn, Germany), a yearly International Bamboo Organ Festival has been held every year (second half of February). Recordings of the organ (by titular organist Armando Salarza, Guy Bovet, Hans and Martin Haselböck, L.Ferdinando Tagliavini exist and) are available online from www.bambooorgan.org
The main exhibit in the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario is a hydraulophone, a kind of water-jet organ. This pipe organ has hydraulic action provided by three water pumps and the keys on the organ console are water jets, so that each "key" (water jet) affords a richly intricate means way to independently control volume, pitch, and timbre affecting each of the organ pipes. See Opening and Lesson (how to play it).
The 5/80 Wurlitzer Theatre Organ in the residence of Jasper and Marian Sanfilippo of Barrington, Illinois, USA is considered to be the finest example of extension organ in the world today. It is the 3rd largest theatre pipe organ in the world. The 2nd largest theatre pipe organ in the world is in Mesa Arizona at the Organ Stop and the largest theatre pipe organ in the world is the Carma Laboratories organ located in Franklin Wisconsin.[49][50]The Sanfilippo organ was designed by David Junchen and installed in a purpose-built music room.
The Organ of the Basilica of St. Martin (Weingarten), Weingarten, Württemberg, Germany, is built around six church windows, with a detached console facing the church. The tracker action is entirely mechanical, sometimes spanning as much as 20 metres, and going around several corners. It was built by Joseph Gabler during 1713 - 1750.
Other organs
Old Salem in Winston-Salem North Carolina has a Tannenberg Organ that was originally built in the 18th century. The case was built in Salem and the other parts were built in Lititz. Tannenberg was 72 at the time of the organ's construction, and was not able to make the trip to Salem to install it. The installation was done by George Currie of Philadelphia. Restoration of the organ has been made several times. One undertaking, in 1910, was not satisfactory, and in 2004 an extensive restoration was completed in Staunton, Va. It was then moved into the Visitor Center, where it is played by the music director of the museum. A tour of the bellows is available to visitors.
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^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (click here for a sound sample)
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^Stoplist
^"Concerts in the Cadet Chapel". Archived from the original on 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
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^1927 Wurlitzer organ, Opus 1571, at Place de la Musique, Sanfilippo Residence, Barrington, Illinois on Pipedreams.
External links
International Organ Foundation online pipe organ database (9000+ organs in 60+ countries)[usurped]
Organ Historical Society Database (Over 48,000 instruments, more than 6500 stop lists, as of June 2011)
