Most Heroic/ Imposing Sounding Organs in US

[Bill Hecot]

Hello all,

As an amateur pipe organ enthusiast, I wanted to reach out to the many experts on this forum and hopefully get some opinions. I know threads that include "most", "largest", etc. can sometimes be tiring, but was hoping for some help nonetheless. I belong to an AV club in NY and we not only sample music weekly on a very substantial system, but travel to listen to instruments as well. As you might expect from subwoofer mavens we are enamored with the monster 32' stops and the herculean bass they produce, and as such that equates heavily into our concept of heroic/imposing. We have been building a list of the most heroic sounding organs in the US and would love some input. Here's what we have so far (based on listening):

1. "The Obvious Ones": Atlantic City and Wanamaker
2. Ocean Grove: Monster pedal department on high pressure
3. Girard Chapel: Incredible room/accoustics, super high pressure (35" I believe) 32' bombarde (referred to as thunderous, apocalyptic, terrifying (that's a cool one) and ferocious on the web) some refer to it as the single most impressive 32' foot stop they have heard. Seems like this organ falls into the uber special category. Its amazing on sykes planets.
4. Meyerson Fisk: New but the high pressure tuba profunda and untersatz on the pedal are truly awe inspiring.
5. St. John the Divine: The refurbished organ contains some very effective pedal stops and the 32' ophicleide is on 25" of wind. Unparalleled acoustics.

Obviously there are a ton of other amazing instruments and we have sampled st. barts, riverside, yale, newark, st josephs in hartford and several others, and while they were/are incredible beyond belief, for basic shock and awe effect, don't seem to match the list above (opinion obviously, not fact). So, I would love your opinions: is the list above "the list" based on our criteria? are we missing some? are we off on any? Thanks so much for any help, I know this is a silly thread, but it is our hobby and we appreciate any insight we can get from experts on this subject as we all share a common love of organs and organ music. Many thanks.

-Bill

[myorgan]

Mr. Hecot,

Based on your list, I'm not sure you left much out. Perhaps the Washington National Cathedral? I've never heard that instrument, but have heard it is supposed to be nice.

Keep in mind, though, that the 32' Reeds you refer to can sound rather nice without a subwoofer because most of the tone of a Low-C 32' Pedal Reed is not at the fundamental, rather in the overtone series. Therefore, if the fundamental isn't reproduced, it's not hard to "trick" the ear into hearing the missing fundamental--much like Resultants do in Flue pipes.

That said, however, the 32' Contre Bourdon, 32' Untersatz, etc. will require a subwoofer to reproduce the sound accurately because the fundamental is much more essential to the tone than the overtone series. Of course, there are always exceptions to the statements I've made (and I'm sure plenty of people will take exception), but the generalities are true, while specific examples might not be true.

Have you considered visiting sites outside the US? I know I was VERY impressed with the 32' Flue at Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec. It was not particularly impressive in a loud, powerful sense, but it had such a nice, filling tone that I've heard so infrequently, it deserved a stop-and-listen. I believe that is a Casavant & Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Again, thanks for your input on the OrganForum.

Michael

[Bill Hecot]

Michael,

Thank you again for all the answers! I very much appreciate the input. I don't know what it is but there is just something about the meyerson and girard organs that sound so impressive. I am sure the acoustics of the room help! Wow that organ in Quebec is a beauty! We had not considered it initially but very open to it. Will add it to the list. Thanks again!

Bill

[myorgan]

Let me amend my previous post to include:

• Cathédrale de Montréal, or the
• West Point Organ, West Point, NY, also Here and here. You can see other photos by changing the number of the photo in the URL, but for some reason, the organ had difficulty staying still during the photos--must've been an earthquake!

I hope this helps extend your list a bit.

Michael

[Bill Hecot]

Thank you again. West Point is quite amazing.

[davidecasteel]

I had an opportunity to hear the organ in York Minster in England. I think you would find their set of 32' stops to be most satisfying. Of course, you DID specify only US instruments.

David

[Bill Hecot]

Thanks so much David. My initial thought was only US as we could reasonably commit to travel there, but since recordings are the next best thing I am happy to open it up and get more insight. I have two recordings of the sydney town hall organ and one of liverpool, both of which are potent.

Thanks again,

Bill

[myorgan]

My initial thought was only US as we could reasonably commit to travel there. . . .

Sorry about suggesting Canada. Quebec City is only a 5-hour drive from me, so I naturally included it. Montréal is almost equidistant. Technically, they're only 1-2 hours from the US border, depending on how you get there. OTOH, you did limit it to US organs.

P.S. I posted in your other thread that I thought the Radio City Music Hall organ has only one pipe, speaking at 128' length, but I am unsure of that. My source was RCMH's former audio engineer who did audio when I did a concert a few years ago. He may not have known what he was talking about.

[Bill Hecot]

No worries, appreciate the input! I love the sydney town hall organ but probably wont ever get to see that one . Radio City has a few 32's as well. The Denver Auditorium Wurlitzer apparently had a 32 diaphone 40" square in low c on high wind. Thats a big stop!

In terms of monster bass stops these were the biggest I could find after some research (aside from the 2 real 64s)

http://theatreorgans.com/southerncro...%20Largest.htm

http://www.theatreorgans.com/ca/gardena/

The second link has a 32' diaphone 42" square low c on 50" of wind!!! Click on the pictures for info. Can you generate bass outdoors?? This organ is fascinating...

[davidecasteel]

I lived in Torrance, California for a couple of years in the 1960s and have been over to Roosevelt Park to hear that organ, Bill. It's a remarkable experience. Of course, the high wind pressures are to enable the instrument to project enough sound in an outdoor venue (no reflections from walls to help); one of the consequences, though, is that it hisses like a teakettle when no pipes are playing.

David