Tone Colours

Evening Star, Issue 20052, 18 December 1928, Page 7

Tone Colours

AND ORCHESTRAL EFFECTS FROM GRAND CHRISTIE UNIT ORGAN INSTALLED AT BMEIRE THEATRE. S Through a bewildering system of wiring and electrical mechanics the Christie Unit organ being installed m the New Empire Theatre can be likened to the Robot, the mechanical man. Every integral part is synchronised. The console is the brain, the bellows the lungs, the pipes the organ or voice, and the effects are human m their operation. ... If the console—the gigantic nerve contra or brain of the whole organ—were ■ placed in Auckland the organ could be operated,, through thick electrical cables, in Dunedin. But the organist will be one of the at the Empire, and the console is being erected on the elevated orchestral platform. The organ is different from the (Wurlitzer, in that it is more of the orchestral typo, but its mechanism includes all the effects which make up the Wurlitzer. The be,st of organ music can bo played on it, although it has b©<su specially built for cinema theatre use. , ' , ~ . After a long delay duo to shipping disorganisation the various parts of the organ are now in the theatre. The console was placed in position to-day, and on January 4 tho first performance will be given by Mr Paget Gale. For years the American organ builders had the market for this type of organ on their own, but the English manufacturers have, in the opinion of the experts, beaten the Americans at their own game. The console cabinet is of teak, finished in maroon and gold to harmonise with the tabs of the proscenium screen. The face of the consol© is like a motor car dashboard. It holds a dock and volt meter and gauges similar to oil gauges, on which tho light moves up to show the pressure on tho pedals. The keys are so numerous and puzzling as to completely upset a concert organist who has not had previous experience of this type of instrument. On this two-manual' organ every key has a switch, and by means of the second touch on the keys the organist is able to obtain effects not possible on any straight organ. In place of the knobs commonly seen on the church instruments the organ is controlled by stop keys, which are coloured to allow the organist to quickly differentiate between , the various orchestral tone colours. No matter how many stops are on, the organist can immediately cut them out of action by the cancel pistons. The organist can also move all his stops by tho crescendo pedal. Incorporated in the organ is a fullsized upright grand piano, situated behind the organ grill on the right aide of the proscenium, which is playable either from the keys or pedals in three registers. The organ can be cut out and the piano played independently from the console if necessary. ■ The piano can bo played in bass or treble by means of the stop controls. Two very clever arrangements on the console are the pizzicato action and the sostenuto, by which a chord can be sustained for any length of time without the organist’s hands being on tho keysrThe organist has no need to use his fingers to place down the keys on the Christie Unit, as sis ivory knobs under each row of keys can be adjusted »t will to put down any set of stops. The illumination, for the console is nicely shaded from both the organist and the , audience. i • Altogether there are 61 stops on the console. The pedal organ (COG to G) lias 32 notes, the solo organ ((X) to C) 61 notes, and the accompaniment organ (CO to C) 61 notes. The effects which can be introduced by electrical current from the console are: Birds, hail or rain, wind, thunder, auto horn, syren, boat whistle, klaxon .horn, telephone bell, kiss whistle, sleigh bells, surf, glass crash, shot, police whistle, -fire alarm, Chinese gong, train whistle, horses’ hoofs, door bell, push button, and Mors© signals. In the early days of the cinema tins half filled with sand were rolled to give the effect of surf, and cocoanut • shelly were crashed together to sound like hoofs on hard ground, anti the offects-man was often belated in bringing in the pistol shots. There will be no lagging m the organ effects or in the playing of the piano, as electricity will be used. The console is connected by cables with tho organ proper, which takes up a largo space on both aides of tho proscenium arch. Over 300 miles of wiring have been used, and on the console and pipe boards there are over 20,000 electrical contacts. An electrical engineer who was shown the workings yesterday declared that he had never seen a telephone switchboard bo intricate. Every one of the 2,000 odd pipes, ranging in height from 16ft to Jin in correct mathematical ratio, is fitted with magnetos, and 500 magnetos are used in the various controls. Twelve bellows are installed to provide the different wind pressures, and in the diaphone, tuba, and tibia heavier pressure is obtainable than on any other organ at present in Dunedin. The organ chamber is crammed from top to bottom with harps, xylophones, drums, chrysoglot, marimbas, sleigh balls, glockenspiel, castanets, and horns, but they are all accessible to the organ builders. Many of the pipes are not to be found in the straight concert orgaus, they having been specially chosen for tho obtaining of orchestral tone colours, necessary for the accompaniment of motion pictures. Behind the grill on the right side of the proscenium are tho piano, rain and wind, and horse effects, and many of the other instruments which will assist in convoying a sound picture to the oars of the audience. Little magnets are fitted to each instrument, and to the layman the effects are so numerous that it would appear as if the organist will have to work at breakneck speed to operate them. On tho console, however, every stop is handy, and, to the expert, his work has been simplified by tho ingenuity of the organ builders. On the ordinary organs, tho swells are worked automatically, but on the Christie Unit this is done by an electrical pneumatic instrument, which gives ten graduated movements on each swell. The heavy or light wind pressure is obtained from a Duplex fan blower, driven by a 7 h.p. motor, attached to which is a twelve-volt generator for supplying current for the organ action. The generator does away with the old system of wet cells and batteries, which were always a. cause of worry to the organists. From the fan room to the various parts of the organ there is over half a mile of trunking to carry the wind pressure. The Christie Unit organ is the first of its type to be installed in the dominion, and there is little doubt that when it is heard the public will be amazed. The specifications published in the ‘Star’ some months ago aroused the interest of the experts, and it can be said that the organ exceeds general expectations. Interesting additions to the. specifications are crowd cheering and applause effects. The organ is being erected by Mr A. E. Alden (Dunedin) and Mr W. A. F. Brodie, who represents the firm of Hill and Son and Norman and Beard, of London, in Christchurch, while the prganist (Mr Paget Gale) is superintending the work.