The Recent Revolution in Organ Building: Being an Account of Modern Developments
John Stuart Mill · en
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."