The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Signs Contract for Largest Concert Hall Organ in the United States
May 29, 2002
"When you look above the stage of Verizon Hall you see the organ's gorgeous façade, but that's just one part of this magnificent instrument," said Janice Price, President and CEO of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. "There are about 50 organ pipes up right now. We have more than six thousand to go. There's a great deal of work still to be done but when we're finished we'll have yet another state-of-the-art asset that distinguishes The Kimmel Center as a world-class performing arts facility."
The Kimmel Center will raise $5 million for construction and installation of the organ, plus a $5 million endowment. The endowment will fund not only upkeep but also performance and education, ensuring that the Kimmel Center Organ maintains a preeminent role in the regional, national and international organ community.
According to Dobson, the Kimmel Center Organ will be an instrument for the 21st century as well as for the great centuries of music that preceded it. In recent years, The Philadelphia Orchestra has been limited to performing symphonic and chamber works that include organ using an electronic organ, a contradiction in both musicology and performance practice. With the installation of the Kimmel Center Organ, The Philadelphia Orchestra and visiting orchestras from around the world will be able to perform a diverse repertoire, some of which has not been performed in Philadelphia in many years, if at all.
The 32-ton Kimmel Center Organ will have four keyboards (or manuals) played by the hands and one keyboard (or pedalboard) played by the feet. These five keyboards control five major groups of pipes (or divisions). The entire instrument is placed above and to the rear of the stage, with the main console below the façade. A second console that plays the organ electronically will be built for use on stage, making it possible to play organ "duets." The Kimmel Center Organ will contain 6,924 pipes of both wood and metal construction. The largest pipes are about two feet square and 32 feet tall. The smallest are similar in size to a drinking straw.
The Kimmel Center Organ will offer something for every historical period in music. Its Great Division will feature a complete principal chorus. The Positive Division will provide delicate 17th and 18th-century sounds, such as those essential to Bach and Handel. The Pedal Division will enable the hall to rumble with the bass sounds required for Romantic symphonic repertoire, while the Solo Division contains the thunder of the organ. The Swell Division, the fire of the organ, provides a lushness to match the "Philadelphia sound" of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
In addition, specialties such as the Zimbelstern (bells rung by a revolving star), the Positive Aeoline (a free reed stop, one of Franz Liszt's favorite organ sounds) and the Contre Bombarde Ravalement (a reed stop in the grand French Romantic tradition) will give the Kimmel Center Organ a uniqueness that will thrill audiences and keep organ scholars and performers clamoring to play the instrument.
The Kimmel Center Organ Project will encourage the commissioning and performance in Philadelphia of contemporary American works for orchestra and/or chorus with organ. The Kimmel Center plans to initiate an organ recital series and collaborate with regional education institutions to stage organ competitions that will establish the Kimmel Center Organ as a foremost instrument in the organ performance arena that will also help develop new audiences and encourage young talent.
More information about the Kimmel Center Organ may be obtained from the Web site at www.kimmelcenter.org or by e-mail at pipeorgan@kimmelcenter.org.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center, manages The Academy of Music, and serves as home to nine Resident Companies. These companies include Kimmel Center Presents, a program that offers a rich diversity of choices to complement presentations by the other companies. Activities of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts also include arts-in-education programming provided by the Merck Arts Education Center and free entertainment throughout the year featuring a wide range of local and regional artists.
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