The Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ is a large pipe organ built by English firm William Hill & Son in 1890. It is located in the Centennial Hall of Sydney Town Hall in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[1]
When it was installed in 1890, the Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ was the largest in the world and remained the largest concert organ built in the 19th century. It was described by Westminster Abbey's organist, Dr Bridge, as the 'finest organ ever built by an English organ builder'.[2] It remains the world's largest organ without any electric action components and is of international significance. It contains one of only two full-length 64′ organ stops in the world (the Contra-Trombone in the pedal). The other 64′ stop is the Diaphone-Dulzian in the Right Stage chamber (Pedal Right division) of the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States.
History
In 1973, Sydney Council began a major restoration program to address the mechanical problems it had begun to experience. Managing the program was R H Pogson Pty Ltd, whose employees worked for almost 10 years to restore the organ to its original form.[1]
Sydney Town Hall today also holds free organ recitals which are held throughout the year.
Specification
The grand organ can be played from 5 manuals and features 127 stops. The specification is as follows:[3]
| GREAT | SWELL (enclosed) | CHOIR (enclosed) | SOLO (enclosed) | ECHO | PEDAL | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Bourdon | 32 | Double Open Diapason | 16 | Contra Dulciana | 16 | Bourdon | 16 | Lieblich Gedackt | 8 | Double Open Diapason Metal | 32 |
| Double Open Diapason | 16 | Bourdon | 16 | Open Diapason | 8 | Open Diapason | 8 | Viol d'Amour | 8 | Double Open Diapason Wood | 32 |
| Bourdon | 16 | Open Diapason | 8 | Hohl Flöte | 8 | Violin Diapason | 8 | Unda Maris II | 8 | Contra Bourdon | 32 |
| Open Diapason I | 8 | Hohl Flöte | 8 | Lieblich Gedackt | 8 | Doppel Flöte | 8 | Viol d'Amour | 4 | Open Diapason Metal | 16 |
| Open Diapason II | 8 | Viola da Gamba | 8 | Flauto Traverso | 8 | Flauto Traverso | 8 | Flageolet | 2 | Open Diapason Wood | 16 |
| Open Diapason III | 8 | Salicional | 8 | Gamba | 8 | Stopped Diapason | 8 | Glockenspiel | 4 Rks | Bourdon | 16 |
| Open Diapason IV | 8 | Dulciana | 8 | Dulciana | 8 | Viola | 8 | Echo Dul. Cornet | 4 Rks | Violone | 16 |
| Harmonic Flute | 8 | Vox Angelica | 8 | Octave | 4 | Octave | 4 | Basset Horn | 8 | Gamba | 16 |
| Viola | 8 | Octave | 4 | Violino | 4 | Harmonic Flute | 4 | Dulciana | 16 | ||
| Spitz Flöte | 8 | Rohr Flöte | 4 | Celestina | 4 | Flauto Traverso | 4 | Quint | 12 | ||
| Gamba | 8 | Harmonic Flute | 4 | Lieblich Flöte | 4 | Harmonic Piccolo | 2 | Octave | 8 | ||
| Hohl Flöte | 8 | Gemshorn | 4 | Twelfth | 3 | Contra Fagotto | 16 | Prestant | 8 | ||
| Rohr Flöte | 8 | Twelfth | 3 | Fifteenth | 2 | Harmonic Trumpet | 8 | Bass Flute | 8 | ||
| Quint | 6 | Fifteenth | 2 | Dulcet | 2 | Corno di Bassetto | 8 | Violoncello | 8 | ||
| Principal | 4 | Piccolo | 1 | Dulciana Mixture | 3 Rks | Orchestral Oboe | 8 | Twelfth | 6 | ||
| Octave | 4 | Mixture | 4 Rks | Bassoon | 16 | Cor Anglais | 8 | Fifteenth | 4 | ||
| Gemshorn | 4 | Furniture | 5 Rks | Oboe | 8 | Octave Oboe | 4 | Mixture | 4 Rks | ||
| Harmonic Flute | 4 | Trombone | 16 | Clarinet | 8 | Contra Tuba | 16 | Mixture | 3 Rks | ||
| Twelfth | 3 | Bassoon | 16 | Vox Humana | 8 | Tuba | 8 | Mixture | 2 Rks | ||
| Fifteenth | 2 | Trumpet | 8 | Octave Oboe | 4 | Tuba Clarion | 4 | Contra Trombone | 64 | ||
| Mixture | 3 Rks | Cornopean | 8 | Carillon Bells | 2 | Contra Posaune | 32 | ||||
| Cymbel | 4 Rks | Horn | 8 | Posaune | 16 | ||||||
| Sharp Mixture | 4 Rks | Oboe | 8 | Trombone | 16 | ||||||
| Furniture | 5 Rks | Clarion | 4 | Bassoon | 16 | ||||||
| Contra Posaune | 16 | Trumpet | 8 | ||||||||
| Posaune | 8 | Clarion | 4 | ||||||||
| Trumpet | 8 | ||||||||||
| Clarion | 4 |
Gallery
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Rehearsing on the Organ
-
The Sydney Town Hall Centennial Hall interior
References
- ^ a b City of Sydney Homepage , The Grand Organ, 29 December 2007.
- ^ Betteridge, Margaret (2008). Sydney Town Hall: the building and its collection. Sydney: Council of the City of Sydney. p. 85. ISBN 9780975119648.
- ^ "Sydneytownhall".
External links
- The Grand Organ - City of Sydney
- The Organ Music Society of Sydney
- Sydney Town Hall Organ Specifications
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This page was last edited on 22 June 2023, at 04:03