The Theatre Pipe Organ: An Overview. Considerations of History & Performance Practice

Abstract

In the 1920s, the American public enjoyed an explosion of exciting new entertainment experiences and was able to savor the creativity of many renowned artists and musicians who came from abroad to relish in the promise of new opportunities. Toward the end of the decade, their appetite had reached extraordinary heights. A steady stream of vaudeville shows and silent films, later replaced by “talkies,” ensured that the notion of attending the theatre became a practically ritualistic way of life. One of the most cherished places of entertainment was the “movie palace.” These magnificently ornate structures provided the ultimate escape into a fantasy world of illusion and wonder for the patron. Among the most crucial components of any successful movie palace was an instrument that enhanced the movie-going experience with a tremendous grandeur—the Theatre Pipe Organ. The theatre organ is an instrument whose origins exist within the realms of traditional church organ building, a field of musical and technological development itself spanning hundreds of years, but one which was aligned with the changing demands and styles of music seen throughout the 1920s. It was an invention borne out of necessity, change and innovation. Its creation, a product of the fertile mind of inventor and engineer Robert Hope-Jones, marked an important turning point in the history of organ building and represents one of the most radical reconsiderations of what a pipe organ could be. American organ building trends had, by this time, moved towards a more orchestral ideal and the theatre organ was an integral part of this, the tonal philosophy being that it should resemble the orchestra as closely as possible. This concept proved invaluable to theatre operators during the 1920s when they were searching for a means of providing maximally varied music at minimal cost. The primary concern of this thesis is the history of the theatre organ, its use and repertoire, and the necessary question of how one can learn to play based on historical recordings, treatises on arranging, and more contemporary performance practices since comparatively little has been written on the subject