If I recall correctly, the Atlantic City organ has the widest acoustic range of any organ ever made, with pipe ranks ranging from a 64' Bombarde that goes nearly subsonic unless you have unusually good deep-range hearing. It also has a 1/2' Flageolet that goes supersonic near the top end of the keyboard. The Bombarde is so deep that most folks feel it before they hear it - if they EVER hear it.
@kegginstructure The 64' rank is a Diaphone-Dulzian. originally planned as a Dulzian rank, they had to switch to Diaphone pipes to fill the last few notes. Since the diaphone imitates a reed stop, you cant tell the transition. and it isnt actually heard. what's heard is the beating of the tuned reed, no actual musical value is of the rank. simply to add effect. it's at 4 hz i believe, or 8. the human hearing range can detect as low as 20 but thats about it.
In the late fifties I was a teenager and my parents put me on a bus from Montreal Quebec to visit a cousin as a graduation gift. A most memorable visit was at Radio City Music Hall where I was most impressed by the Theatre organ show...I do not remember the movie but the virtuosity of George Wright and the astonishing sounds he could extract from that organ made an indelible ''sentimental journey''...I will never forget
@jangioul i am glad you enjoyed the theatre organ. however, if you really were in the music hall, you did not hear george wright. if you really heard george wright, you were not in the music hall but in the new york paramount. does that jog your memory?
I got to hear on old guy play The Star Spangled Banner on the Atlantic City Organ years ago at the beginning of a car auction there and get a good look at it; it is just awesome!!!!! I wonder what will happen to it?
@specialkvi its in the ballroom of the complex, the ballroom can accomodate around 5,000 people. The Kimball organ is one of the most beautiful sound organs, and unique too.
@Terrance0012 me too! me too!! will definitely have to change the dimensions of my bedroom to accommodate the accoustics and whatEVER else my pipe organ needs...I'd like my mother to come back to earth to play it, also
For those who don't realize it: these recordings are not of the Midmer-Losh. These all sound like much smaller theatre organs (in much MUCH smaller spaces!)
The M.L. is for the most part an orchestral organ. It does have a lot of the more modern sounds available, but more than anything it is like an instrument from one of the great cathedrals.
Nope! The acoustic in the building that the atlantic city organ at the time it was last recorded, the reverb was 8 seconds! Plus, this organ sounds alot more powerfull than what you hear!
This starts off with george wright playing at one of the fox theatre wurlitzers. The rest i dont know, perhaps someone cud help out?
What an instrument! It's got destructive bass and delicate notes all in one. I read this thing can get down to 4 hz. Awesome!! What appreciation I have for it's designers.
Can't you see the stage filled with flappers and the dapper Dans waiting on the side for their cue to join the fray. Maybe a couple of the ladies are on top of the organ canopy, all dancing to, "The Charleston." #2 I believe is David Rose, "The Stripper" played in a distinctive ragtime tempo. #3 eludes me.
I used to have a Vynil album by George. One of the tracks had real bird song on and our cats used to prowl round the room after the birds, or so they thought...
the manuals are all at the normal heights you would find on any other organs. The 7th manual is just at eye level, and its easy to reach.
An experiment was carried out, in the 50s, when most of the organ was working. Everything was coupled to the great, when everything was on, the ice cracked in the hall, the organ could be heard and felt outside, on the boardwalk, nearly 1000ft away from the organ console!
@449GO many if not all the relays can be replaced with solid state action as well as the broken combination action.now to see when they start doing tihings is the next step
The organ gradually fell into disrepair over the last fifty years, mostly due to its size and difficulty in keeping such an instrument in top shape.
The biggest reason it is not playable, though, is due to the renovations done to the hall in the 1990s. Workers carelessly tore through banks of relays, sawed through others, and even trampled some pipes. Water damage from bad plumbing damaged things even further. It was an absolute disgrace and only made things harder for the restorers later on.
Not yet, but they're getting there. The relays are still apart and the console is being refurbished. They are hoping to have it back up and running by the end of the year.
There is currently a drive to restore the organ. The debate over the years who was bigger....Wanamaker or the Atlantic City instrument. A myth exists that as Midmer Losh went bankrupt, they took pipes from the instrument. Regardless the most beautiful sounding large pipe organ is the Wanamaker.
I am saying that Midmer Losh did complete the organ, but the rumor was that several years later as they went out of business, they took pipes from Atlantic in order to pay bills.
I own by Stephen Smith (I believe he's the ACCHOS president), it says that currently, approximately %28.9 of the instrument is playable. Sad, sad, sad...
I believe the organ in Philly you refer to is the Wanamaker. Its a whole different monster of a lesser nature. If this organ were in Macy's there would be no building standing after a few sessions. It rides on 100 inches of pressure. The Wanamaker only rides on 25. They really are not close enough to compare in just about every way.
The organs 2 bottom manuals have 85 keys, swell has 73 and the other 4 having 61. The organ is in atlantic city convention hall, and, currently is unplayable, but the right stage chamber (132 ranks) is nearing full playing condition.
The music in this is George Wright but not playing this organ. He may well have played this organ, but the music is of various Wurlitzers he played during his long career. Still it matters not as you obviously appreciated the mausic in this video.
I wonder if these cuts are not from those Boston Skyline recordings that got GW so hot under the collar so many years ago. It was the HiFI stuff redone with quite a bit hotter treble.
Thanks for this. More, more, more!!!!!
NewtonOR 3 months ago
THATS A BIG ORGAN!!!!!!!!!
bleh151 4 months ago
When it comes to ice, this organ better hope the polar ice caps don't brake and melt unless it can play submarine!
jimamia77 7 months ago
some of the best theatre organ music i have ever heard. i think he had some fun with the 2nd one- i sure did!
scoobydoorocks10 7 months ago
the "ophicleide" (a powerful reed) on the atlantic city organ is louder than most locomotive horns. just a thought!!
jgraif 10 months ago
If I recall correctly, the Atlantic City organ has the widest acoustic range of any organ ever made, with pipe ranks ranging from a 64' Bombarde that goes nearly subsonic unless you have unusually good deep-range hearing. It also has a 1/2' Flageolet that goes supersonic near the top end of the keyboard. The Bombarde is so deep that most folks feel it before they hear it - if they EVER hear it.
kegginstructure 10 months ago
@kegginstructure The 64' rank is a Diaphone-Dulzian. originally planned as a Dulzian rank, they had to switch to Diaphone pipes to fill the last few notes. Since the diaphone imitates a reed stop, you cant tell the transition. and it isnt actually heard. what's heard is the beating of the tuned reed, no actual musical value is of the rank. simply to add effect. it's at 4 hz i believe, or 8. the human hearing range can detect as low as 20 but thats about it.
furrypeanut1 10 months ago
Does anyone know the name of the second song played after the Charleston?
777vlw 1 year ago
@777vlw
Sounds definitely like THE STRIPPER by David Rose, but I thought that was a 50s song, not from the 20s. Has the same chords and melody / rhythm!
afn2 11 months ago
In the late fifties I was a teenager and my parents put me on a bus from Montreal Quebec to visit a cousin as a graduation gift. A most memorable visit was at Radio City Music Hall where I was most impressed by the Theatre organ show...I do not remember the movie but the virtuosity of George Wright and the astonishing sounds he could extract from that organ made an indelible ''sentimental journey''...I will never forget
jangioul 1 year ago
@jangioul i am glad you enjoyed the theatre organ. however, if you really were in the music hall, you did not hear george wright. if you really heard george wright, you were not in the music hall but in the new york paramount. does that jog your memory?
jgraif 10 months ago
Ahhhh, the charelston!
ackbomb 1 year ago
how calls the first song?
schriesilaut 1 year ago
I got to hear on old guy play The Star Spangled Banner on the Atlantic City Organ years ago at the beginning of a car auction there and get a good look at it; it is just awesome!!!!! I wonder what will happen to it?
soccercleatscrush 1 year ago
Where any of these songs recorded on the Miller Losh 5550?
helloitsmelol097 1 year ago
Actually, there is Kimball 4-manual theatre organ inside the Atlantic City Auditorium.
specialkvi 1 year ago
@specialkvi its in the ballroom of the complex, the ballroom can accomodate around 5,000 people. The Kimball organ is one of the most beautiful sound organs, and unique too.
3dwurli 1 year ago
Absolute Magic
tom7044 1 year ago
bravo!
ERROLCUSTERFLYNN4EVR 1 year ago
whats the name of the 1st song?
scoobydoorocks100 1 year ago
@scoobydoorocks100 the charleston
organist12345 1 year ago
i want one in my bedroom
Terrance0012 1 year ago 6
@Terrance0012 ME TOO~!!
warmlandlass1 1 year ago
@Terrance0012 HELL YES!!!
dieselheart001 1 year ago
@Terrance0012 me too! me too!! will definitely have to change the dimensions of my bedroom to accommodate the accoustics and whatEVER else my pipe organ needs...I'd like my mother to come back to earth to play it, also
warmlandlass1 1 year ago
@Terrance0012 I Do Too! But, alas, there is not enough room. *sigh*
scoobydoorocks10 6 months ago
For those who don't realize it: these recordings are not of the Midmer-Losh. These all sound like much smaller theatre organs (in much MUCH smaller spaces!)
The M.L. is for the most part an orchestral organ. It does have a lot of the more modern sounds available, but more than anything it is like an instrument from one of the great cathedrals.
Karlfalcon 2 years ago
This organ sounds like a wurlitzer but can also be a full organ so it can do more than any other pipe organ
helloitsmelol097 2 years ago
Was this recording recorded on this organ?
danielmkubacki 2 years ago
Nope! The acoustic in the building that the atlantic city organ at the time it was last recorded, the reverb was 8 seconds! Plus, this organ sounds alot more powerfull than what you hear!
This starts off with george wright playing at one of the fox theatre wurlitzers. The rest i dont know, perhaps someone cud help out?
bmhall100 2 years ago
What an instrument! It's got destructive bass and delicate notes all in one. I read this thing can get down to 4 hz. Awesome!! What appreciation I have for it's designers.
TruAgape123 2 years ago 2
Comment removed
Raffallos1411 2 years ago
Thanks for the tunes, loved it.
OahuLargeScaleTrains 2 years ago
Can someone please tell me what the name is of the first piece played? Thank you.
KnightGarter 2 years ago
I believe it's the Charleston
hydractor 2 years ago 2
Can't you see the stage filled with flappers and the dapper Dans waiting on the side for their cue to join the fray. Maybe a couple of the ladies are on top of the organ canopy, all dancing to, "The Charleston." #2 I believe is David Rose, "The Stripper" played in a distinctive ragtime tempo. #3 eludes me.
KE5RHD 2 years ago
@KE5RHD This is way to fast to possibly dance to.
dacatholicbandorgan 2 years ago
I used to have a Vynil album by George. One of the tracks had real bird song on and our cats used to prowl round the room after the birds, or so they thought...
silverstartrucker 2 years ago
How can they play that organ?! Do you have to stand up to play it? It has seven manuals! What happens if every stop is turned on?
theaterpipe1 2 years ago
gotta be pretty damn tall, huh?
falaqdad15 2 years ago
the manuals are all at the normal heights you would find on any other organs. The 7th manual is just at eye level, and its easy to reach.
An experiment was carried out, in the 50s, when most of the organ was working. Everything was coupled to the great, when everything was on, the ice cracked in the hall, the organ could be heard and felt outside, on the boardwalk, nearly 1000ft away from the organ console!
449GO 2 years ago 8
@449GO many if not all the relays can be replaced with solid state action as well as the broken combination action.now to see when they start doing tihings is the next step
brb21592 1 year ago
@449GO nothing in this world will EVER replace the King of Instruments...
warmlandlass1 1 year ago
lindas melodias maravilha jair brasil
Gusabino021 2 years ago
why is the atlantic organ not playable...?
brb21592 2 years ago
The organ gradually fell into disrepair over the last fifty years, mostly due to its size and difficulty in keeping such an instrument in top shape.
The biggest reason it is not playable, though, is due to the renovations done to the hall in the 1990s. Workers carelessly tore through banks of relays, sawed through others, and even trampled some pipes. Water damage from bad plumbing damaged things even further. It was an absolute disgrace and only made things harder for the restorers later on.
Karlfalcon 2 years ago
Are we hearing the Kimball ballroom organ at the convention hall? Have they finished fixing the Kimball up yet?
codeman2008 2 years ago
Not yet, but they're getting there. The relays are still apart and the console is being refurbished. They are hoping to have it back up and running by the end of the year.
12pianoman24 2 years ago
Oh, i'm gana want to hear that definately.
bull912000 2 years ago
No, you are hearing the SanFrancisco Fox 4-36 Wurlitzer, 1956 recording.
56Packman 2 years ago
Thanks! I hear their coming right along with fixing up the Kimball in the Ballroom at the Convention Hall.
codeman2008 2 years ago
Comment removed
topper2142 2 years ago
I'm a fan of big Pipe Organs-- How much of this wonderful instrument is still active?
sr633 2 years ago
There is currently a drive to restore the organ. The debate over the years who was bigger....Wanamaker or the Atlantic City instrument. A myth exists that as Midmer Losh went bankrupt, they took pipes from the instrument. Regardless the most beautiful sounding large pipe organ is the Wanamaker.
bassclef48532 2 years ago
well, thats a matter of personal taste. Midmer losh never took pipes from the instrument. They are all there, the organ was completed.
449GO 2 years ago
Hello again--
I am saying that Midmer Losh did complete the organ, but the rumor was that several years later as they went out of business, they took pipes from Atlantic in order to pay bills.
bassclef48532 2 years ago
If you count pipes, the Convention Hall Organ is larger. It has over 33,000. The Wanamaker has 28 or 29 thousand, however it has more ranks.
12pianoman24 2 years ago
I own by Stephen Smith (I believe he's the ACCHOS president), it says that currently, approximately %28.9 of the instrument is playable. Sad, sad, sad...
codeman2008 2 years ago
I own a book by Mr. Smith that is.
codeman2008 2 years ago
Ha! Leon Berry snuck in at 3:35. (glad George can't hear me say that). Wright rules!
OrganCat 2 years ago
I believe the organ in Philly you refer to is the Wanamaker. Its a whole different monster of a lesser nature. If this organ were in Macy's there would be no building standing after a few sessions. It rides on 100 inches of pressure. The Wanamaker only rides on 25. They really are not close enough to compare in just about every way.
KE5RHD 2 years ago
true but this organ has more manuels and pipes than the other ones
quinn244 2 years ago
I love the music, and the pics of what i like to call my baby, "The Midmer Losh Organ."
Pogue76 2 years ago
I've heard Andre Rieu play the last song on this video but can't place the title. Does anybody know it?
HJ
rodneywitherspoon 2 years ago
Note several manuals had full 88 keys...Emerson Richards was the designer of the instrument. It is in Philly and still playing strong.
bartonbuster 3 years ago
The organs 2 bottom manuals have 85 keys, swell has 73 and the other 4 having 61. The organ is in atlantic city convention hall, and, currently is unplayable, but the right stage chamber (132 ranks) is nearing full playing condition.
compton357 3 years ago
This is not in Philly. It's in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.
tonystud23 3 years ago
Actually its in atlantic city Boardwalk hall.
449GO 2 years ago
I think you are thinking of the Wanamaker organ in Macy's.
Karlfalcon 2 years ago
Was that really George playing the 'Stripper'? Sounded more like Tom H!
hopeyjo 3 years ago
That's because it is Tom H.! I have the CD it's on "Ragtime's Greatest Hits", on The Million Dollar Wurlitzer.
W4KSR 3 years ago
Did you add a touch of digital reverb to this? Almost sounds like it.
RonRizzy 3 years ago
The music in this is George Wright but not playing this organ. He may well have played this organ, but the music is of various Wurlitzers he played during his long career. Still it matters not as you obviously appreciated the mausic in this video.
Thanks for posting your thoughts.
jameskinmond1980 3 years ago
Hey Ron;
I wonder if these cuts are not from those Boston Skyline recordings that got GW so hot under the collar so many years ago. It was the HiFI stuff redone with quite a bit hotter treble.
BTW, check out my Pauline Alpert piano roll.
tld
Yaledmot 3 years ago