Whilst Player Pianos were popular in the average home, no fashionable large residence was considered complete until a pipe organ had been installed. The residence instrument is quite different both in sight and sound to its more widely known cousin, the church organ.
Residence organs were built to play orchestral music and rather than possessing the typical majestic tones of an instrument used mainly to lead a large congregation in song, they contained softly-voiced pipes, in imitation of the flutes, the woodwind and string section of the orchestra.
Residence organs were built to play orchestral music and rather than possessing the typical majestic tones of an instrument used mainly to lead a large congregation in song, they contained softly-
Roll-playing consoles were beautifully designed to match the interior décor of the rooms into which they were installed, and very clever methods of constructions were employed so that the large numbers of pipes (many of them over eight feet long) could be contained within the small spaces available. The Æolian Company specialised in the construction of these residence organs and devised a special Pipe Organ Roll which would play both the keyboards, and the pedalboard, of a two manual instrument.
Both the Æolian Pipe Organ and the Welte Philharmonic Autograph Organ are currently being reinstalled in the new museum and we soon expect these fine instruments to play an active part once again in your visits rather than just look impressive!