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Sacred Ritual at the Organ

Like a sacred ritual, Frederick Muller comes into Town Hall to play the organ. He donated the three manual Allen theatre organ in memory of his mother, Helen Muller, Ironically, while the former Bristol Glen resident always loved the organ music that Frederick played, she played the trumpet beautifully.

With their distinguished horseshoe shape, theatre organs were originally produced in the early 1920’s to provide music for silent films. It was much cheaper to pay one organist rather than an entire orchestra. To compensate, theatre organs also produced sounds mimicking the piano, glockenspiel, xylophone, drum, cymbal, and other instruments.

With the advent of the “talkies” in 1929, theatre organs found a new purpose as concert instruments. Motion picture halls were not considered movie palaces unless they had large, ornate organs. During the 1950’s the palaces were split up and the organ almost succumbed. Luckily, high fidelity recording permitted people to savor its full acoustic range. Some, however, landed in homes, skating rinks and pizza parlors.

Later, digital technology reproduced the sound of theatre organs, and the Bristol Glen instrument is no exception. With 10 channels and related speakers, it fills Town Hall with glorious sound. Oh, dream of the spotlight shining on an elaborate organ rising from the orchestra pit at the New York Paramount Theatre!

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