The
Allen Organ Company builds classical
digitalAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
and combination digital and
pipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
s, as well as digital
theatre organA theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
s. Its factory is located in
MacungieMacungie is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the second oldest borough in the county and a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.-History:...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
History
The company was formed in 1937 by Jerome Markowitz. The company has installed electronic instruments worldwide since 1939. In 1961 the company went public. Inspired by the
Hammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, Jerome Markowitz was determined to build a better electronic organ. Over the years, he built many home and church organs, and in 1971 the company introduced the world's first consumer-product digital musical instrument ; in 2004, the
Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
recognized the significance of this technology by acquiring the first Allen digital organ for its collection.
Quantum line
The Quantum organ line uses a digital processing technique called the
convolution reverbIn audio signal processing, convolution reverb is a process for digitally simulating the reverberation of a physical or virtual space. It is based on the mathematical convolution operation, and uses a pre-recorded audio sample of the impulse response of the space being modelled...
, a technique widely used in both software and hardware musical instruments. In Allen's implementation of the technique, the acoustics of the sampled room become an integral part of the organ's sound. An 8-second stereo convolution reverb requires about 35 billion calculations per second ; Allen patented a technique to reduce the computation amount to about 400 million calculations per second. A digital organ that produces CD quality sound without convolution reverb would require only about calculations per second for each sound. Quantum organs include about times that capacity to create convolution reverb.
Heritage line
The Heritage organ line incorporates this technology into custom designed instruments.
See also
- Carlo Curley
Carlo Curley is a flamboyant and popular classical concert organist. Self-dubbed "the Pavarotti of the Organ", he is one of only a few concert organists worldwide who support themselves exclusively by giving recitals, concerts and master classes, without any supplement from teaching or church...
– an Allen organist
- Virgil Fox
Virgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach. These events appealed to audiences in the 1970s who were more familiar with rock 'n' roll music and were staged complete with light shows...
played an Allen on his Heavy Organ tours.
- Walt Strony
Walt Strony is an American organist. He began his professional career in 1974. While primarily known for his work playing the theatre organ, he performs numerous classical concerts as well....
- an Allen organist; also, Allen had Mr. Strony design a digital organ for them: the Allen "STR-4."
- Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's 1971 MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers score calls for two Allen organs.