Salt Lake Tabernacle organ
Encyclopedia
The Salt Lake Tabernacle organ is a pipe organ
located in the Salt Lake Tabernacle
in Salt Lake City
, Utah
. Along with the nearby Conference Center
organ, it is typically used to accompany the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
and is also featured in daily noon recitals. It is one of the largest organs in the world.
The Tabernacle organ is considered to be one of the finest examples of the American Classic style of organ building. Inspired by the design of the Boston Music Hall
organ, the original organ was built in 1867 by an Australian, Joseph Ridges. Ridges' instrument contained some 700 pipes and was constructed of locally derived materials as much as possible. The pipes are constructed of wood
, zinc
, and various alloy
s of tin
and lead
. When it was initially constructed, the organ had a tracker action
and was powered by hand-pumped bellows
; later it was powered by water from City Creek. Today it is powered by electricity and has an electro-pneumatic action
.
Though the organ has been rebuilt and enlarged several times since 1867, the original, iconic casework and some of Ridges' pipes still remain in the organ today. The current organ is largely the work of G. Donald Harrison
of the former Aeolian-Skinner
organ firm. It was completed in 1948 and contains 11,623 pipes, 147 voices (tone colors) and 206 ranks (rows of pipes).
during its weekly radio and television broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word
. It also appears in other concerts, recitals, and in recordings. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used the organ to accompany music for its semiannual general conferences until April 2000, when the church opened its newly-constructed Conference Center
across the street to the north, which has its own 7708-pipe organ.
Apart from its use by Mormon Tabernacle Choir's organists, several guest artists have been invited to play the instrument, including Gillian Weir
(2007) and Felix Hell
(2008).
Pipe organ
The 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...
located in the Salt Lake Tabernacle
Salt Lake Tabernacle
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple.-History:...
in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Along with the nearby Conference Center
LDS Conference Center
The Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in spring 2000 in time for the church's April 2000 general conference, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt...
organ, it is typically used to accompany the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
and is also featured in daily noon recitals. It is one of the largest organs in the world.
Construction
Boston Music Hall
The Boston Music Hall was a concert hall located on Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional entrance on Hamilton Place.One of oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The hall...
organ, the original organ was built in 1867 by an Australian, Joseph Ridges. Ridges' instrument contained some 700 pipes and was constructed of locally derived materials as much as possible. The pipes are constructed of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, and various alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
s of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
. When it was initially constructed, the organ had a tracker action
Tracker action
Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe of the corresponding note...
and was powered by hand-pumped bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
; later it was powered by water from City Creek. Today it is powered by electricity and has an electro-pneumatic action
Electro-pneumatic action
The electro-pneumatic action is a control system for pipe organs, whereby air pressure, controlled by an electric current and operated by the keys of an organ console, opens and closes valves within wind chests, allowing the pipes to speak. This system also allows the console to be physically...
.
Though the organ has been rebuilt and enlarged several times since 1867, the original, iconic casework and some of Ridges' pipes still remain in the organ today. The current organ is largely the work of G. Donald Harrison
G. Donald Harrison
George Donald Harrison crafted some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the United States. He started out in 1914 as a patent attorney but after military service he began to pursue an interest in pipe organ building working with Henry Willis & Sons of London.After immigrating to America,...
of the former Aeolian-Skinner
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
organ firm. It was completed in 1948 and contains 11,623 pipes, 147 voices (tone colors) and 206 ranks (rows of pipes).
Uses
The organ often accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle ChoirMormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
during its weekly radio and television broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word
Music and the Spoken Word
Music and the Spoken Word is a weekly 30-minute radio and television program of inspiring messages and music produced by Bonneville Communications with music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir .The radio program is distributed by the CBS Radio Network and its broadcast center is KSL...
. It also appears in other concerts, recitals, and in recordings. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used the organ to accompany music for its semiannual general conferences until April 2000, when the church opened its newly-constructed Conference Center
LDS Conference Center
The Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in spring 2000 in time for the church's April 2000 general conference, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt...
across the street to the north, which has its own 7708-pipe organ.
Apart from its use by Mormon Tabernacle Choir's organists, several guest artists have been invited to play the instrument, including Gillian Weir
Gillian Weir
Dame Gillian Constance Weir DBE is a New Zealand organist.-Biography:Gillian Weir was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition at 19, playing Mozart. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London...
(2007) and Felix Hell
Felix Hell
Felix Hell is a world renowned organist born on September 14, 1985 in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany. He was a child prodigy, performing his first organ recital in Russia at the age of nine, and presenting concerts on the organ in many countries around the world before his 11th...
(2008).
List of stops
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