A forgotten era in early film comes back to life in the twenty-first century. The Wurlitzer theater organ, often referred to as the “Mighty Wurlitzer” theater organ, represents a significant artifact of motion picture history from the early twentieth century. Theater organs often functioned as versatile and valuable keyboard instruments meant to complement the visual aspect of silent films in the 1920s. This specific type of organ could replicate acoustic orchestral instruments (like strings and woodwinds) and sound effects (like ringing telephones and birds). The organist could produce these aural effects on the instrument by applying different combinations of tabs, stops, and pedals. The theater organ also included features often not found in traditional church organs, such as a tremulation effect when depressing the tones.
I had the opportunity to view a Wurlitzer theater organ in action: both in terms of its musical range and via a demonstration of its inclusion in silent film. The model of the instrument that I observed was initially installed at the Lucas Theater in 1925 and recently restored in April 2023. The organ features pipes hidden within the left and right sides of the stage walls to produce a stereophonic effect when the organist triggers sound on the console. It also features mounted percussion, like a glockenspiel or xylophone, to produce certain instrumental effects on the organ whenever necessary. This Wurlitzer theater organ is one of the more than two-thousand theater organs constructed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company from the 1910s to the 1940s.
I had the opportunity to view a Wurlitzer theater organ in action: both in terms of its musical range and via a demonstration of its inclusion in silent film. The model of the instrument that I observed was initially installed at the Lucas Theater in 1925 and recently restored in April 2023. The organ features pipes hidden within the left and right sides of the stage walls to produce a stereophonic effect when the organist triggers sound on the console. It also features mounted percussion, like a glockenspiel or xylophone, to produce certain instrumental effects on the organ whenever necessary. This Wurlitzer theater organ is one of the more than two-thousand theater organs constructed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company from the 1910s to the 1940s.
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