This is a guest post by David Mariotti.
The Massey Memorial Organ was presented to the Chautauqua Institution on August 7, 1907 by Eliza Massey in honor of her late husband, Hart Massey, the Canadian industrialist and Chautauquan. At the time of his death, Massey owned the Massey Manufacturing Company, makers of tractors and farm implements. The company later became Massey Harris Ferguson, and in 1958, Massey Ferguson. Today, it is part of AGCO.
The 1907 Chautauqua organ was designed and created by Charles Warren, of the Warren Church Organ Company in Woodstock, Ontario. Included in the $40,000 budget for this instrument was $14,000 to rebuild the back of Chautauqua’s Amphitheater to accommodate an instrument of this size.
Over the years, several minor repairs and renovations were completed, but by 1990, the organ had deteriorated to the point that a complete restoration was necessary for the organ to remain playable. In the fall of 1992, the Fischer Pipe Organ Company of Erie, PA, began the monumental task of rebuilding the organ, including the addition of electronic controls. All pipes were removed from the Amphitheater and taken to Erie for cleaning and repair. A new air supply system, new piping, and new ducting, were constructed and installed. Then came the most complicated and mind-boggling part of the project–moving the pipe chambers (rooms) up one story just behind the main golden pipes in the choir loft of the Amphitheater. The redesign required new framing to support the chambers. Look up and around in this next picture, taken at basement level, and you’ll see the pipe chambers that were moved up one story and the framing required. Also visible are air-piping changes and the giant refurbished rectangular pipes stacked horizontally, the bottom one of which produces a 16Hz C! Yes, that is correct–a 16Hz C.
Organ pipes are organized in tone groupings, called ranks. The pitch of the pipes in a rank are of the same as the pitch of pipes in another rank. In other words, the C (say, in the middle of the treble clef) played from any rank will sound at exactly the same pitch as the same C from any other rank, but the tone quality will vary from rank to rank. Tone quality varies because the pipes in some ranks are made of metal, some are wood, some are straight cylinders, some are conical, some are square, some are closed tubes, some are open tubes, and some produce sound using reeds. When the next panorama opens, tilt it downward and zoom out a bit and you’ll see a few rank groupings. Ranks contain 61 notes, or 5 octaves, although there are exceptions.
When you load the next panorama and look around, you’ll probably feel as I did when I first cautiously walked into the pipe chambers with my equipment–that the reconstruction of this organ was an intricate, complicated, and daunting project. When the picture opens, you’ll be looking though a narrow doorway that leads to two additional pipe chambers. If you move slightly to the left, you’ll see a large metal pipe partly behind the narrow door. This 16-footer produces a 33Hz C, which is the bottom note on the string bass (one octave below the 2nd-ledger-line C at the bottom of the bass clef). Also, rotating to the right, notice that you are standing on the other side of the golden pipes that are in view when you are in the Amphitheater audience. And turning a bit more, you’ll see reed pipes near your feet.
Tilt this last panorama downward and you can see the large horizontal pipes one story down in the room pictured in the “Beneath the Pipe Chambers” panorama. Also in view are many more ranks–the Massey Organ contains a total of 5,640 pipes arranged in 93 ranks. 632 of the pipes must be played with foot pedals and the rest are played using four keyboards.
At full volume, the Massey generates a massive, powerful, solid sound on top of driving bass notes that shake the building. But, for an organ its size, it also possesses remarkable bark, bite, definition, and clarity. Looking at this organ is one thing, but hearing it in person is a thrilling experience.