THE CHIEF ACTORS IN THE DRAMA.
We now purpose to give a brief account of the leaders in
revolutionizing the King of Instruments, the men whose genius and
indomitable perseverance in the face of prejudice, discouragement and
seemingly insurmountable obstacles, financial and otherwise, have made
the modern organ possible. First of all these comes
CHARLES SPACHMAN BARKER,
who was born at Bath, England, on Oct. 10, 1806. Left an orphan when
five years old, he was brought up by his godfather, who gave him such
an education as would fit him for the medical profession, and he was in
due time apprenticed to an apothecary and druggist in Bath. This
apothecary used to draw teeth, and it was Barker's duty to hold the
heads of the patients, whose howls and screams unnerved him so that he
refused to learn the business and left before his term of
apprenticeship expired.
Dr. Hinton does not credit the story that Barker, accidentally
witnessing the operations of an eminent organ-builder (Bishop, of
London) who was erecting an organ in his neighborhood, determined on
following that occupation, and placed himself under that builder for
instruction in the art. It seems to be admitted, however, that after
spending most of the intervening time in London, he returned to Bath
two years afterwards and established himself as an organ-builder there.
About 1832 the newly built large organ in York Minster attracted
general attention, and Barker, impressed by the immense labor
occasioned to the player by the extreme hardness of touch of the keys,
turned his thoughts toward devising some means of overcoming the
resistance offered by the keys to the fingers. The result was the
invention of the pneumatic lever by which ingenious contrivance the
pressure of the wind which occasioned the resistance to the touch was
skilfully applied to lessen it. He wrote to Dr. Camidge, then the
organist of the Cathedral, begging to be allowed to attach one of his
levers in a temporary way to one of the heaviest notes of his organ.
Dr. Camidge admitted that the touch of his instrument was "sufficient
to paralyze the efforts of most men," but financial difficulties stood
in the way of the remedy being applied. Barker offered his invention
to several English organ-builders, but finding them indisposed to adopt
it, he went to Paris, in 1837, where he arrived about the time that
Cavaillé-Coll was building a large organ for the Church of St. Denis.
M. Cavaillé-Coll had adopted the practice of making his flue and reed
pipes produce harmonic tones by means of wind of heavy pressure; but he
encountered difficulty as the touch became too heavy for practical use.
Mr. Barker's apparatus, which simply overpowered the resistance that
could not be removed, was therefore an opportune presentation; he took
out a _brevet d' invention_ for it in 1839, and M. Cavaillé-Coll
immediately introduced it, together with several harmonic stops, into
the St. Denis organ. Besides the organ of St. Denis, Barker's
pneumatic lever was applied to those of St. Roch, La Madeleine, and
other churches in Paris.
"Barker's connection with Cavaillé was not of long duration, and we
next find him in the Daublaine & Callinet organ-building company. At
this time the company was rebuilding the magnificent organ at St.
Sulpice, the acknowledged masterpiece of Cliquot, the French 'Father
Schmidt.' * * *
"During the time this restoration of the organ was in hand, Louis
Callinet experienced acute financial difficulties, and, failing to
induce Daublaine, his partner, to advance him a relatively small sum, *
* * Callinet became so bitterly incensed that one day, going to the
organ on some trifling pretext, he entirely wrecked it with axe and
handsaw.
"This act of vengeance or criminal folly involved Daublaine in the same
financial ruin as himself, and through this tragic occurrence the firm
in which Barker was beginning to be securely established came to an
end. Callinet, being absolutely penniless, was not prosecuted, but
ended his days in the employ of Cavaillé as voicer and tuner.
"Nor was this the only disaster which occurred during the time Barker
was with Daublaine & Callinet. In 1844 (December 16th), it was
Barker's ill-fortune to kick over a lighted candle while trying to
remove a cipher in the organ his firm had recently erected in St.
Eustache, which occasioned the total destruction of the organ. * * *
"The outlook seemed unpromising for Barker when the firm of Daublaine &
Callinet came to an end. The good will of that concern was, however,
purchased by M. Ducroquet (a capitalist), who entrusted him with its
management.
"J. B. Stoltz, Daublaine & Callinet's foreman, a very able man and a
splendid workman, feeling aggrieved at Barker's promotion, seceded and
set up for himself, his place in the new firm being filled by M.
Verschneider, in whom Barker found efficient support in matters of
technical knowledge and skill.
"During the time Barker was with M. Ducroquet the present organ at St.
Eustache was built, to replace that so unfortunately destroyed by fire;
also an organ which was exhibited at the great exhibition of London in
1851. * * *
"In the Paris exhibition of 1855 Barker was admitted as an exhibitor,
independently of M. Ducroquet (who was in bad health and on the eve of
retiring from business), obtaining a first-class medal and nomination
as Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
"At the death of M. Ducroquet, which occurred shortly afterwards,
Merklin took over the business carried on by Ducroquet, and Barker
remained with him until 1860, when he set up on his own account in
partnership with M. Verschneider, before named, and it was during the
decade 1860-70 that the electric organ came into being."
The story of Dr. Péschard's invention has been already set forth in
this book (see page 37). Barker seems to have been somewhat jealous of
him and always described the action as "Pneumato-electrique," objecting
to the term "Electro-pneumatic," although this was putting the cart
before the horse. Dr. Hinton says: "Though I was much in touch with
Barker during part of his brief period of activity in electric work,
Péschard's name was rarely mentioned and carried little meaning to me.
I did not know if Péschard were a living or a dead scientist, and if I
(a mere youth at the time) ever thought of him, it was as being some
kind of bogie Barker had to conciliate."
Bryceson Brothers, of London, exhibited an organ at the Paris
Exposition Universelle in the Champ de Mars in 1867, on which daily
recitals were given by Mons. A. L. Tamplin, who induced Mr. Henry
Bryceson to visit the electric organ then being erected in the Church
of St. Augustin. Mr. Bryceson, being convinced that this was the
action of the future, lost no time in investigating the system
thoroughly, and arranged with Barker for the concession of the sole
rights of his invention as soon as he should obtain his English patent,
which he got in the following year. Barker, however, repented him of
his bargain, and the exclusive rights were eventually waived by the
Brycesons, although they retained the right to use the patent
themselves. They made considerable improvements on Barker's action,
the chief defects of which seem to have been the resistance of the
pallets (which had to be plucked from their seats; he did not even use
the split pallet) and the cost of maintenance of the batteries, which
rapidly deteriorated from the action of the powerful acids employed. A
full description and drawing of Péschard's and Barker's action will be
found in Dr. Hinton's "Story of the Electric Organ."
This same Paris Exposition of 1867 is also responsible for the
introduction of tubular-pneumatic action into England by Henry Willis.
He there saw the organ by Fermis which induced him to take up that
mechanism and develop it to its present perfection.
The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 drove Barker from Paris, his factory
was destroyed in the bombardment, and thus at the age of 64 he was
again cast adrift. He came to England and found, on attempting to take
out a patent for his pneumatic lever, that all the organ-builders were
using what they had formerly despised!
He succeeded, however, in obtaining the contract for a new organ for
the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, and it was arranged
that he should receive a certain sum in advance, and a monthly
allowance up to the amount of the estimated cost of the instrument. He
seems to have had trouble in obtaining expert workmen and only
succeeded in getting a motley crowd of Frenchmen, Germans, Dutch and
Americans. They spoke so many different languages that a Babel-like
confusion resulted. Hilborne Roosevelt, the great American
organ-builder, was at that time in Europe, and in response to Barker's
earnest entreaty, came to Dublin _incognito_, so as not to detract from
Barker's reputation as the builder. Roosevelt's direction and advice
were most invaluable, being moreover given in the most chivalrous and
generous spirit; but, notwithstanding this and the excellent material
of which the organ was constructed, the result was anything but an
artistic or financial success.
[Illustration: CHARLES SPACHMAN BARKER.]
Barker built an organ for the Roman Catholic Cathedral at Cork, which
was no better, and this was his last work. These misfortunes
culminated in an appeal to his countrymen for subscriptions on his
behalf in the musical papers. In his old age he had married the
eighteen-year-old daughter of M. Ougby, his late foreman. He died at
Maidstone, Eng., November 26, 1879.
This sketch of Barker's career is taken partly from Grove's Dictionary
of Music, from Hopkins and Rimbault's History, and from Dr. Hinton's
"Story of the Electric Organ." The paragraphs within quotation marks
are verbatim from this book by kind permission of Dr. Hinton, whom we
have to thank also for the portrait of Barker which appears on another
page.
ARISTIDE CAVAILLE-COLL.
The following sketch of the life of this eminent artist is taken from
Dr. Bédart's forthcoming book on "Cavaillé-Coll and His Times," and
from Le Monde Musical, of Paris, October 30, 1899, translated by Mr.
Robert F. Miller, of Boston. The portrait is from the same magazine.
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was born at Montpellier, France, on the 4th day
of February, 1811. He was the son of Dominique Cavaillé-Coll, who was
well known as an organ-builder in Languedoc, and grandson of Jean
Pierre Cavaillé, the builder of the organs of Saint Catherine and Merci
of Barcelona. The name of Coll was that of his grandmother. If we
should go back further we find at the commencement of the Eighteenth
Century at Gaillac three brothers--Cavaillé-Gabriel, the father of Jean
Pierre; Pierre, and Joseph, who also was an organ-builder. Aristide
Cavaillé, therefore, came honestly by his profession and at the age of
18 years was entrusted by his father to direct the construction of the
organ at Lerida, in which he introduced for the first time the manual
to pedal coupler and the system of counter-balances in the large wind
reservoirs.
In 1834 Aristide, realizing the necessity of cultivating his knowledge
of physics and mechanics, went to Paris, where he became the pupil of
Savart and of Cagnard-Latour. The same year a competition was opened
for the construction of a large organ in the royal church of St. Denis;
Aristide submitted his plan and succeeded in obtaining the contract.
This success decided the Messrs. Cavaillé to remove their organ factory
to Paris, where they established themselves in the Rue Neuve St.
George. On account of repairs being made to the church building, the
organ of St. Denis was not finished until 1841, but it showed
improvements of great importance, first and foremost of which was the
Barker pneumatic lever (see _ante_, page 120). The wind pressure was
on a new system, whereby increased pressure was applied to the upper
notes, giving more regularity of tone to each stop. The wind
reservoirs were provided with double valves, insuring a more steady
supply, whether all the stops were played together or separately. The
introduction of Harmonic stops was practically an innovation, as their
use hitherto had been almost prohibited by the difficulty of playing on
a high wind pressure (see _ante_, page 21). This enriched the organ
with a new group of stops of a superior quality on account of the
roundness and volume of sound.
In 1840 Cavaillé-Coll submitted to the Académie des Sciences the result
of his experimental studies of organ pipes; on the normal tone of the
organ and its architecture; the length of pipes in regard to intonation
and precision in blowing. He made many experiments and improvements in
wind supply. He was also the inventor of "Poikilorgue," an expressive
organ, which was the origin of the harmonium.
Between 1834 and 1898 he built upward of 700 organs, including Saint
Sulpice, Notre Dame, Saint Clotilde, la Madeleine, le Trocadero, Saint
Augustin, Saint Vincent de Paul, la Trinite (all in Paris); Saint Ouen
at Rouen, Saint Sernin at Toulouse; the Cathedrals at Nancy, Amsterdam,
and Moscow; the Town Halls of Sheffield and Manchester, England. The
most celebrated of these is Saint Sulpice, which contains 118 stops and
was opened in April 29, 1862.[1]
The fine period of Cavaillé-Coll was during the Empire, about 1850.
The Emperor Napoleon III, to flatter the clergy and the bishops,
ordered the Cathedral organs to be rebuilt, and gave the order to
Cavaillé-Coll. He in many instances preserved the old soundboards,
dividing them on two ventils for reeds and for flues, increased the
wind pressures, introduced pneumatic levers, and transformed the small
Tenor C Swells into large 15 to 20 stop Swells, _with 16-foot reeds_
included, and so crowned the fine flue work and mixture work of these
Cathedral organs.
We all know the fine effect of a large Swell. The French Cathedral
organs were deprived of this tonal resonance in 1850, and
Cavaillé-Coll, by judicious overhauling, use of good materials, and by
the addition of large Swells, _transformed the sonority of these large
instruments located in splendid positions_ above the grand west
entrance doors of these fine Gothic buildings.
Cavaillé-Coll, during his long career, received from the Universal
Expositions the highest honors. He was appointed a Chevalier of the
Legion of Honor in 1849, and officer of the same order in 1878. He was
also Honorary President of the Chamber of Syndicates of Musical
Instruments.
Much enfeebled by age, he in 1898 relinquished the direction of his
factories to one of his best pupils, M. Charles Mutin, who has never
ceased to maintain the high integrity of the house.
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll died peacefully and without suffering on October
13, 1899, in his 89th year. He was interred with military honors. A
simple service was held at Saint Sulpice and M. Charles Widor played
once more, for the last time to the illustrious constructor, the grand
organ which was the most beautiful conception of his life.
* * * * * * * *
We have in the course of our review mentioned some of Cavaillé-Coll's
principal contributions to the progress of organ-building, his
development of harmonic stops and use of increased wind pressures. Mr.
W. T. Best, in 1888, in a report to the Liverpool Philharmonic Society
as to the purchase of a new organ for their Hall, recommended
Cavaillé-Coll as "the best producer of pure organ tone" at that time.
Next to him he placed T. C. Lewis & Sons, then W. Hill & Son.
But the organists of the world have to thank Cavaillé-Coll chiefly for
the assistance he gave Barker in developing the pneumatic lever,
without which the present tonal system with its heavy wind pressures
would have been impossible of attainment.
"Blest be the man," said Sancho Panza, "who first invented sleep! And
what a mercy he did not keep the discovery to himself!" Joseph Booth,
of Wakefield, England, put what he called a "puff bellows" to assist
the Pedal action in the organ of a church at Attercliffe, near
Sheffield, in 1827. But he kept the invention to himself, and it only
came to light 24 years after his death! Note on the other hand the
perseverance of Barker. For five weary years he kept on trying one
builder after another to take up his idea without avail, and then took
it beyond the seas. Which reminds us of the Rev. William Lee, the
inventor of the stocking-knitting frame in the time of Queen Elizabeth,
whose countrymen "despised him and discouraged his invention. * * *
Being soon after invited over to France, with promises of reward,
privileges and honor by Henry IV * * * he went, with nine workmen and
as many frames, to Rouen, in Normandy, where he wrought with great
applause." Thus does history repeat itself.
HENRY WILLIS.
The following sketch of the greatest organ-builder of the Victorian Era
has been condensed from an interview with him as set forth in the
London _Musical Times_ for May, 1898.
Henry Willis was born in London on April 27, 1821. His father was a
builder, a member of the choir of Old Surrey Chapel, and played the
drums in the Cecilian Amateur Orchestral Society. The subject of this
sketch began to play the organ at very early age; he was entirely
self-taught and never had a lesson in his life.
In 1835, when he was fourteen years of age, he was articled for seven
years to John Gray (afterwards Gray & Davidson), the organ-builder.
During his apprenticeship he invented the special manual and pedal
couplers which he used in all his instruments for over sixty years. He
had to tune the organ in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where he made
the acquaintance of Sir George Elvey, who took a great fancy to the boy
tuner.
While still "serving his time" and before he was out of his teens,
Henry Willis was appointed organist of Christ Church, Hoxton. In the
early fifties he was organist of Hampstead Parish Church, where he had
built a new organ, and for nearly thirty years he was organist at
Islington, Chapel-of-Ease, which post he only resigned after he had
passed the Psalmist's "three score years and ten." In spite of the
engrossing claims of his business, Mr. Willis discharged his duties as
organist with commendable faithfulness; he would often travel 150 miles
on a Saturday in order to be present at the Sunday services. In his
younger days he also played the double-bass and played at the
provincial Musical Festivals of 1871 and 1874.
After his apprenticeship expired he lived in Cheltenham for three
years, where he assisted an organ-builder named Evans, who afterwards
became known as a manufacturer of free reed instruments. They produced
a model of a two-manual free reed instrument with two octaves and a
half of pedals which was exhibited at Novello's, in London. Here
Willis met the celebrated organist, Samuel Sebastian Wesley.
[Illustration: Henry Willis]
About the year 1847 Henry Willis started in business for himself as an
organ-builder, and his first great success was in rebuilding the organ
in Gloucester Cathedral. "It was my stepping-stone to fame," he says.
"The Swell, down to double C, had twelve stops and a double Venetian
front. The _pianissimo_ was simply astounding. I received 400 pounds
for the job, and I was presumptuous enough to marry."
For the Great Exhibition of 1851 in the Crystal Palace (then in Hyde
Park), Mr. Willis erected a magnificent organ which attracted
extraordinary attention and was visited by the Queen and Prince
Consort. It had three manuals and pedals, seventy sounding stops and
seven couplers. There were twenty-two stops on the Swell, and the
Swell bellows was placed inside the Swell box. The manual compass
extended to G in _altissimo_ and the pedals from CCC to G--32 notes.
There were other important features in this remarkable instrument which
went a long way towards revolutionizing the art of organ-building.
First, the introduction of pistons, inserted between the key-slips,
which replaced the clumsy composition pedals then in vogue. Again, to
use Mr. Willis' own words, "that Exhibition organ was the great pioneer
of the improved pneumatic movement. A child could play the keys with
all the stops drawn. It never went wrong."
This organ was afterwards re-erected in Winchester Cathedral in 1852,
and was in constant use for forty years before being renovated. It was
also the means of procuring Willis the order for the organ in St.
George's Hall, Liverpool. "The Town Clerk of Liverpool wrote to me,"
said Mr. Willis, "to the effect that a committee of the Corporation
would visit the Exhibition on a certain day at 6 A. M., their object
being to test the various organs with a view to selecting a builder for
the proposed new instrument in St. George's Hall. He asked me if I
could be there. I was there--all there! The other two competing
builders, X and Z, in anticipation of the visit, tuned their organs in
the afternoon of the previous day, with the result that, owing to the
abnormal heat of the sun through the glass roof, the reeds were not fit
to be heard! I said nothing. At five o'clock on the following morning
my men and I were there to tune the reeds of my organ in the cool of
the morning of that lovely summer's day. At six o'clock the Liverpool
committee, which included the Mayor and the Town Clerk in addition to
S. S. Wesley and T. A. Walmisley, their musical advisers, duly
appeared. Messrs. X and Z had specially engaged two eminent organists
to play for them. I retained nobody. But I had previously said to
Best, who had given several recitals on my organ at the Exhibition, 'It
would not be half a bad plan if you would attend to-morrow morning at
six o'clock, as you usually do for practice.' Best was there. After
the two other organs had been tried, the Town Clerk came up and said:
'We have come to hear your organ, Mr. Willis. Are you going to play it
yourself?' I said, 'There's one of your own townsmen standing there
(that was Best); ask him.' He did ask him. 'Mr. Best has no objection
to play,' said the Town Clerk, 'but he wants _five_ guineas!' 'Well,
give it to him; the Corporation can well afford it.' The matter was
arranged. Best played the overture to 'Jessonda' by Spohr, and it was
a splendid performance." The organ was quite a revelation to the
Liverpudlians, and after talking it over in private for twenty minutes
the committee decided to recommend Willis to the Council to build the
organ in St. George's Hall. He had, however, serious differences with
Dr. S. S. Wesley, who wanted both the manuals and pedals to begin at
GG. "I gave in to him in regard to the manuals," said Mr. Willis, "but
I said, 'unless you have the pedal compass to C, I shall absolutely
decline to build your organ.'" And so the matter was compromised. But
Willis lived to see the manual compass of his magnificent Liverpool
organ changed to CC (in 1898). When the organ was finished he
recommended that Best should be appointed organist, although Dr. Wesley
officiated at the opening ceremony in 1855. Not only did Willis
practically get Best appointed to Liverpool, but he had previously
coached him up in his playing of overtures and other arrangements for
the organ. "I egged him on," said the veteran organ-builder, and we
all know with what results. Notwithstanding all that Best owed to
Willis, he quarreled with him violently towards the close of his career
over the care of the St. George's Hall organ. As Best told the writer,
"not because Willis _could_ not, but because he _would_ not" do certain
things in the way of repairs, that he claimed did not come under his
contract. This led to the care of the organ being transferred to T. C.
Lewis & Sons, but it was given back to Willis after Best's death.
Mr. Willis gained a wide and deservedly high reputation as the builder
of many Cathedral organs--upwards of sixteen. His largest instrument
is that in the Royal Albert Hall, London. He designed it entirely
himself; he had not to compete for the building of it, but had _carte
blanche_ in regard to every detail.
There was an amusing incident in connection with deciding upon the
pitch of the instrument. The authorities arranged that Sir Michael
Costa, Mr. R. K. Bowley, then general manager of the Crystal Palace,
and some of the leading wind-instrument players of the day, including
Lazarus (a famous clarinetist), should attend at the factory to settle
the question of the pitch of the organ. "They also brought a
violinist," said Mr. Willis; "but I couldn't see what a fiddler, who is
a very useful man in his way, had to do with settling the pitch. (I
should tell you," added Mr. Willis, _sotto voce_, "that _I_ had
formulated some idea of the proper pitch before these gentlemen
arrived.) However, we duly proceeded, Costa presiding over the
conclave. When they began to blow into their different instruments
each man had a different pitch! It was a regular pandemonium! By and
by we settled upon something which was considered satisfactory, and we
bade each other good morning." The sequel need not be told. We leave
it to our readers to draw their own conclusions as to whether the Royal
Albert Hall organ was actually tuned to the pitch of Messrs. Costa,
Bowley, Lazarus & Co., or to that previously decided upon by Mr. Willis.
He erected two large organs for the Alexandra Palace, and one in
Windsor Castle with two keyboards, one in St. George's Hall, and one in
His Majesty's Private Chapel, whereby the instrument is available for
use in both places.
It was entirely owing to Willis' dominating personality that the organ
in St. Paul's Cathedral was rebuilt in its present form. He had the
old screen taken down and the old organ case, which happened to be
alike on both sides, he cut in two and re-erected on each side of the
choir. The change also involved the removal of the statues of Lord
Nelson and Lord Cornwallis. When one of the committee asked him if he
proposed to have two organists for his divided organ, he replied, "You
leave that to me." And proceeded to invent[2] his tubular pneumatic
action (see page 25). When this organ was used for the first time at
the Thanksgiving service for the recovery of the Prince of Wales from
typhoid fever in 1873, the pneumatic action for the pedals was not
finished. Willis rigged up a temporary pedal board inside the organ
near the pedal pipes and played the pedal part of the service music
himself while George Cooper was at the keys in the regions above.
After the service Goss said to Ousley, who was present, "What do you
think of the pedal organ?" "Magnificent!" replied the Oxford
Professor. "You know that the pipes are a long way off; did the pedals
seem to go exactly together with the manuals?" Goss asked.
"Perfectly," replied Ousley, "but why do you ask me in that way?" Then
Goss let out the secret--for it was really a great secret at the time.
Willis' great hobby was yachting. He owned a 54-ton yacht named the
_Opal_, and attributed the wonderful health he enjoyed to his numerous
sea voyages. "I have circumnavigated the whole of England and
Scotland," he said, "and I am my own captain. Those two men over
there" (pointing to two of his employees working in the factory) "are
my steward and shipwright. The steward is a fisherman--a fisherman
being very useful as a weather prophet. * * * I do all the repairs to
the yacht myself and have re-coppered her bottom two or three times. I
also put entirely new spars into her, and there stands her old mast.
Some years ago I injured the third and fourth fingers of both my hands
with the ropes passing through them. These four fingers became bent
under, and for a long time I had to play my services with only the
thumb and two fingers of each hand. But Dr. Macready, a very clever
surgeon, begged me to allow him to operate on my disabled fingers, with
the result that I can use them as of old, or nearly so."
Henry Willis died in London on February 11, 1900, in his 80th year,
deeply mourned by all who knew him, and was interred in Highgate
cemetery. In the course of this work we have referred to the many
improvements he effected in organ construction and reed voicing. As
Sir George Grove said, his organs are celebrated for "their excellent
engineering qualities." Clever, ingenious, dauntless and
resourceful--qualities blended together with a plentiful supply of
sound judgment and good common sense--were some of the striking
characteristics of this remarkable man. He gave his personal attention
to every department of his factory; nothing was too insignificant to
claim his notice; his thoroughness was extraordinary--every pipe went
through his hands. An organist himself, he was always thinking of the
player in laying out his instruments. He had a remarkably inventive
genius, which he turned to good account in the mechanical portions of
his organs. He took infinite pains with everything and his enthusiasm
knew no bounds. But, above all, he possessed in a striking degree that
attribute which a similar successful worker once aptly described as
"_obstinate_ perseverance." He had a strong aversion to newspaper men
and sent them away without ceremony. While free from conceit, he was
not always amenable to dictation, especially when he had disputes with
architects--in which the architects were generally worsted.
He regarded his organ in St. Paul's Cathedral (rebuilt in 1899), as his
_magnum opus_. "There is nothing like it in the world," he remarked,
with pardonable pride, one Saturday when Sir George Martin was playing
that kingly king of instruments. To paraphrase the inscription on
Purcell's monument in Westminster Abbey:--
"He has gone where only his own Harmony can be excelled,"
leaving behind him many noble specimens of his remarkable achievements.
ROBERT HOPE-JONES.
Robert is the third son of the late William Hope-Jones, Hooton Grange,
Cheshire, England.
His father, a man of means, was prominent as one of the pioneers in
organizing the volunteer army of Great Britain. He was musical,
playing the cornet and having an unusual tenor voice. His mother
(Agnes Handforth)--also musical and a gifted singer--was a daughter of
the Rector of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire,--a highly nervous woman.
[Illustration: Robert Hope-Jones]
There were nine children of the marriage--two girls and seven boys.
Robert appeared on the ninth of February, 1859. He inherited in
exaggerated degree his mother's highly strung nervous nature.
Melancholy, weak and sickly as a child, he was not expected to live.
To avoid the damp and cold of English winters he was periodically taken
to the south of France. Deemed too delicate for school, a private
tutor was provided. Joining in sports or games was out of the question
for so sensitive and delicate a youth,--what more natural, therefore,
than that he should become a dreamer--a thinker? Too ill for any real
study, his musical instincts drove him to the organ, and we find him
playing for occasional services at Eastham Parish Church at the age of
nine. After his father's death, when he was about fourteen, he spent a
couple of years in irregular attendance at school, and at the time of
his confirmation was persuaded that by superhuman effort of will his
physical disabilities might be disregarded and a life of some value be
worked out. Then began the desperate struggle that gradually overcame
every obstruction and resulted in the establishment of an iron will and
determination to succeed that no misfortunes have been able to quell.
His want of health greatly interfered with his career till he was
nearly thirty years of age.
When fifteen he became voluntary organist and choir-master to the
Birkenhead School Chapel. Two or three years later he simultaneously
held a similar office at St. Luke's Church, Tranmere, where he trained
a boy choir that became widely celebrated. For this Church he bought
and set up a fine organ. He subsequently served as Churchwarden and
was active in many other Church offices. He erected an organ in the
Claughton Music Hall and organized and conducted oratorio performances
in aid of various Church funds; training a large voluntary chorus and
orchestra for the purpose. For Psalms whose verses are arranged in
groups of three, he wrote what he called "triple chants"--a form of
composition since adopted by other Church writers; he also composed
Canticles, Kyries and other music for the services of the Church.
Though St. Luke's Church was situated in a poor neighborhood, the men
and boys forming his choir not only gave their services but also
gratuitously rang the Church bell, pumped the organ bellows, bought all
the music used at the services, paid for the washing of the surplices
and helped raise money for the general Church fund. Hope-Jones'
enthusiasm knew no bounds and he had the knack of imparting it to those
who worked under him.
So earnest and energetic was this young man that in spite of
indifferent health and without at once resigning his work at St.
Luke's, he became choirmaster and honorary organist of St. John's
Church, Birkenhead, doing similar work in connection with that
institution. He trained both the latter-named choir together, and the
writer (whose son was in St. John's choir) frequently assisted him by
playing the organ at the services on Sunday. It was at this Church and
in connection with this organ that Hope-Jones did his first great work
in connection with organ-building. The improved electric action,
movable console and many other matters destined to startle the organ
world, were devised and made by him there, after the day's business and
the evening's choir rehearsals. He had voluntary help from
enthusiastic choirmen and boys, who worked far into the night--on some
occasions all night. Certain of these men and boys are to-day
occupying responsible positions with the Hope-Jones Organ Company.
All this merely formed occupation for his spare time. About the age of
seventeen he began his business career. He was bound apprentice to the
large firm of Laird Bros., engineers and shipbuilders, Birkenhead,
England. After donning workman's clothes and going through practical
training in the various workshops and the drawing office, he secured
appointment as chief electrician of the Lancashire and Cheshire
(afterwards the National) Telephone Company. In connection with
telephony he invented a multitude of improvements, some of which are
still in universal use. About this time he devised a method for
increasing the power of the human voice, through the application of a
"relay" furnished with compressed air. The principle is now utilized
in the best phonographs and other voice-producing machines. He also
invented the "Diaphone," now being used by the Canadian Government for
its fog signal stations and declared to be the most powerful producer
of musical sound known (in a modified form also adapted to the church
organ).
About 1889 he resigned his connection with the telephone company in
order that he might devote a greater part of his attention to the
improvement of the church organ, a subject which, as we have seen, was
beginning to occupy much of his spare time. He had private practice as
a consulting engineer, but gradually his "hobby"--organ
building--crowded out all other employment--much to his financial
disadvantage and to the gain of the musical world.
His organ at St. John's Church, Birkenhead, became famous. It was
visited by thousands of music lovers from all parts of the world.
Organs built on the St. John's model were ordered for this country
(Taunton, Mass., and Baltimore, Md.), for India, Australia, New
Zealand, Newfoundland, France, Germany, Malta, and for numbers of
English cathedrals, churches, town halls, etc. Nothing whatever was
spent on advertisement. The English musical press for years devoted
columns to somewhat heated discussion of Hope-Jones' epoch-making
inventions, and echoes appeared in the musical periodicals of this and
other countries.
In spite of every form of opposition, and in spite of serious financial
difficulties, Hope-Jones built organs that have influenced the art in
all parts of the globe. He proved himself a prolific inventor and can
justly claim as his work nine-tenths of the improvements made in the
organ during the last twenty years. Truly have these words been used
concerning him--"the greatest mind engaged in the art of organ-building
in this or in any other age."
Every organist fully acquainted with his work endorses it, and upwards
of thirty organ-builders have honored themselves by writing similar
testimony. The Austin Organ Company, of Hartford, Conn., says: "We
have taken considerable pains to study his system and to satisfy
ourselves as to the results he has achieved. There is, we find, no
doubt whatever that he has effected a complete revolution in the
development of tone."
Sir George Grove, in his "Dictionary of Music and Musicians" (p. 551),
says: "No reference to this description of action [electric] as set up
in recent years would be complete without mentioning the name of Mr.
Robert Hope-Jones. * * * The researches in the realm of organ tone by
Mr. Hope-Jones and others who are continually striving for excellence
and the use of an increased and more varied wind-pressure (ranging from
3 to 25 inches) all combine to produce greater variety and superiority
in the quality of organ tone than has ever existed before."
Elliston in his book on Organ Construction devotes considerable space
to a description of the organs built by Hope-Jones in England and
Scotland, and says: "The Hope-Jones system embraces many novelties in
tone and mechanism."
Matthews, in his "Handbook of the Organ," referring to the Hope-Jones
instruments, says:
"In his electric action Mr. Hope-Jones sought not only to obtain a
repetition of the utmost quickness, but also to throw the reeds and
other pipes into vibration by a 'percussive blow,' so to speak; being
in this way enabled to produce certain qualities of tone unobtainable
from ordinary actions. Soundness and smoothness of tone from the more
powerful reeds, and great body and fullness of tone as well as depth
from the pedal stops, are also noticeable features in these organs."
Ernest M. Skinner, of Boston, used the following words: "Your patience,
research and experiment have done more than any other one agency to
make the modern organ tone what it is. I think your invention of the
leathered lip will mean as much to organ tone as the Barker pneumatic
lever did to organ action, and will be as far-reaching in its effect.
"I believe you were the first to recognize the importance of a low
voltage of electric action, and that the world owes you its thanks for
the round wire contact and inverted magnet.
"Since I first became familiar with your work and writing I have found
them full of helpful suggestions."
At first Hope-Jones licensed a score of organ-builders to carry out his
inventions, but as this proved unsatisfactory, he entered the field as
an organ-builder himself, being liberally supported by Mr. Thomas
Threlfall, chairman of the Royal Academy of Music; J. Martin White,
Member of the British Parliament, and other friends.
It was, perhaps, too much to expect that those who had so far profited
from Hope-Jones' contracts and work should remain favorably disposed
when he became a rival and a competitor.
For nearly twenty years he has met concerted opposition that would have
crushed any ordinary man--attacks in turn against his electrical
knowledge, musical taste, voicing ability, financial standing, and
personal character. His greatest admirers remain those who, like the
author, have known him for thirty years; his greatest supporters are
the men of the town in which he lives; his warmest friends, the
associates who have followed him to this country after long service
under him in England.
Long before Hope-Jones reached his present eminence, and dealing with
but one of his inventions, Wedgwood, a Fellow of the Royal Historical
Society and a learned student of organ matters, classed him with
Cavaillé-Coll and Willis, as one whose name "will be handed down to
posterity"--the author of most valuable improvements.[3]
Early in his organ-building career, Hope-Jones had the good fortune to
meet J. Martin White, of Balruddery, Dundee, Scotland. Mr. White, a
man of large influence and wealth, not only time and again saved him
from financial shipwreck and kept him in the organ-building business,
but rendered a far more important service in directing Hope-Jones'
efforts toward the production of orchestral effects from the organ.
Mr. White, in spite of his duties as a member of the British
Parliament, and in spite of the calls of his business in Scotland and
in this country, has managed to devote much time and thought to the art
of organ playing and organ improvement.
Thynne, who did pioneer work in the production of string tone from
organ pipes, owes not a little to Martin White; while Hope-Jones
asserts that he derived all his inspiration in this field from
listening to the large and fine organ in Mr. White's home.
Mr. White argued that the Swell Organ should be full of violin tone and
be, as the strings in the orchestra, the foundation of accompaniment as
well as complete in themselves. He lent to Hope-Jones some of his
"string" pipes to copy in Worcester Cathedral, whence practically all
the development of string tone in organs has come. Mr. White further
urged that the whole organ should be in swell boxes.
It is extraordinary that an outsider like Mr. White, a man busy in so
many other lines of endeavor, should exert such marked influence on the
art of organ building, but it remains a fact that but for his artistic
discernment and for the encouragement so freely given, the organ would
not to-day be supplanting the orchestra in theatres and hotels, nor be
what it is in the churches and halls.
Mr. White has for nearly thirty years helped, enthused and encouraged,
not only artistic organ-builders like Casson, Thynne, Hope-Jones and
Compton, but also the more progressive of the prominent organists.
All honor to Martin White!
* * * * * * * *
In the spring of 1903 Hope-Jones visited this country. At the
instigation of Mr. R. P. Elliot, the organizer, Vice-President and
Secretary of the Austin Organ Company, of Hartford, Conn., he decided
to remain here and join that corporation, taking the office of
Vice-president. Subsequently a new firm--Hope-Jones & Harrison--was
tentatively formed at Bloomfield, N. J., in July, 1904, but as
sufficient capital could not be obtained, Hope-Jones and his corps of
skilled employees joined the Ernest M. Skinner Company, of Boston,
Hope-Jones taking the office of Vice-president, in 1905. Working in
connection with the Skinner Company, Hope-Jones constructed and placed
a fine organ in Park Church, Elmira, N. Y., erected in memory of the
late Thomas K. Beecher. He there met, as chairman of the committee,
Mr. Jervis Langdon (Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce, Elmira).
That gentleman secured the industry for his city by organizing a
corporation to build exclusively Hope-Jones organs.
This "Hope-Jones Organ Company" was established in February, 1907, the
year of the financial panic. It failed to secure the capital it sought
and was seriously embarrassed throughout its three years' existence.
It built about forty organs, the best known being the one erected in
the great auditorium at Ocean Grove, N. J.
The patents and plant of the Elmira concern were acquired by the
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in April, 1910, and Mr. Hope-Jones entered its
employ, with headquarters at its mammoth factory at North Tonawanda, N.
Y., continuing to carry on the business under his own name.
Robert Hope-Jones is a member of the British Institute of Electrical
Engineers; of the Royal College of Organists, London, England; of the
American Guild of Organists; and of other bodies.
In 1893 he married Cecil Laurence, a musical member of one of the
leading families of Maid stone, England. This lady mastered the
intricacies of her husband's inventions, and to her help and
encouragement in times of difficulty he attributes his success.
* * * * * * * *
We suppose that the reason "history repeats itself" is to be found in
the fact that human nature does not vary, but is much the same from
generation to generation. From the Bible we learn that one Demetrius,
a silversmith of Ephesus, became alarmed at the falling off in demand
for silver shrines to Diana, caused by the preaching of the Apostle
Paul, and called his fellow craftsmen together with the cry of "Our
craft is in danger," and set the whole city in an uproar. (Acts
xix-24.)
In the year 1682 a new organ was wanted for the Temple Church in
London, England, and "Father" Smith and Renatus Harris, the
organ-builders of that day, each brought such powerful influence to
bear upon the Benchers that they authorized _both_ builders to erect
organs in the church, one at each end. They were alternately played
upon certain days, Smith's organ by Purcell and Dr. Blow, and Harris'
organ by Baptist Draghi, organist to Queen Catherine. An attempt by
the Benchers of the Middle Temple to decide in favor of Smith stirred
up violent opposition on the part of the Benchers of the Inner Temple,
who favored Harris, and the controversy raged bitterly for nearly five
years, when Smith's organ was paid for and Harris' taken away. This is
known in history as "The Battle of the Organs." In the thick of the
fight one of Harris' partisans, who had more zeal than discretion, made
his way inside Smith's organ and cut the bellows to pieces.
In 1875-76 the organ in Chester Cathedral, England, was being rebuilt
by the local firm of J. & C. H. Whiteley. The London silversmiths took
alarm at the Cathedral job going to a little country builder and got
together, with the result that, one by one, Whiteleys' men left their
employ, tempted by the offer of work at better wages in London, and had
there not been four brothers in the firm, all practical men, they would
have been unable to fulfil their contract. The worry was partly
responsible for the death of the head of the firm soon after.
All this sounds like a chapter from the dark ages, of long, long ago,
and we do not deem such things possible now.
But listen! In the year 1895 what was practically the first Hope-Jones
electric organ sold was set up in St. George's Church, Hanover Square,
London, England.
The furor it created was cut short by a fire, which destroyed the organ
and damaged the tower of the church. With curious promptitude
attention was directed to the danger of allowing amateurs to make crude
efforts at organ-building in valuable and historic churches, and to the
great risk of electric actions. Incendiarism being more than
suspected, the authorities of the church ordered from Hope-Jones a
similar organ to take the place of the one destroyed.
About the same time a gimlet was forced through the electric cable of a
Hope-Jones organ at Hendon Parish Church, London, England. Shortly
afterwards the cable connecting the console with the Hope-Jones organ
at Ormskirk Parish Church, Lancashire, England, was cut through. At
Burton-on-Trent Parish Church, sample pipes from each of his special
stops were stolen.
At the Auditorium, Ocean Grove, N. J., an effort to cripple the new
Hope-Jones organ shortly before one of the opening recitals in 1908 was
made. And in the same year, on the Sunday previous to Edwin Lemare's
recital on the Hope-Jones organ in the First Universalist Church,
Rochester, N. Y., serious damage was done to some of the pipes in
almost each stop in the organ.
* * * * * * * *
Robert Hope-Jones died at Rochester, N. Y., on September 13, 1914, aged
55 years, and was interred at Elm Lawn Cemetery, No. Tonawanda, near
Niagara Falls, N. Y.
Since his association with the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in April,
1910, they have built under his personal supervision the organs in the
Baptist Temple, Philadelphia; the rooms of the Ethical Culture Society,
New York; and amongst others the unit orchestras in the Vitagraph
Theatre, New York; the Crescent Theatre, Brooklyn; the Paris Theatre,
Denver, Colo.; the Imperial Theatre, Montreal; and the Pitt Theatre,
Pittsburgh, Pa., which last Hope-Jones considered his chef d'oeuvre.
[1] Dr. W. C. Carl, of New York, who is well acquainted with these
instruments, considers the one in Notre Dame to be better than St.
Sulpice and more representative of Cavaillé-Coll's work, even if a
little smaller. We therefore give that specification, page 157.
[2] Exhaust tubular pneumatic had been practically applied in France as
early as 1849 and pressure tubular pneumatic in 1867. See page 23.
[3] "Dictionary of Organ Stops," p. 44 and elsewhere.
NOTE.--This book has been translated into French, and published with
annotations by Dr. G. Bédart, Professor Agrégé à la Université de
Lille, France, under the title of "Révolution Récente dans la Facture
d'Orgue." Lille: Librairie Générale Tallandier, 5, Rue Faidherbe.
Prix net 4 Fr.