The word "historic" is used in many references to the organ in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Although the musical instrument is one of the most famous in the world and has a long history, many of its parts are relatively new -- most no more than half a century old.
Jan. 16 marked the 50th anniversary of the completion of the rebuilding of the Tabernacle organ by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Mass. The renovation, which took place from 1945-49, was a monumental undertaking.The original Tabernacle organ was dedicated Oct. 4, 1875, by John Taylor, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve, who read the prayer of dedication prepared by Brigham Young.
The name of Joseph Ridges is inseparably connected with the history of the Tabernacle organ. A native of England, he was introduced to the gospel by a fellow shipmate on a voyage to Australia in 1851. A carpenter by trade, he had developed a keen interest in organs when he was a boy living across the street from an organ factory near London. After he settled in Australia, he built his first organ, which impressed the Church's presiding elder there so much he suggested it be sent to Church headquarters.
In 1856, the Ridges family and others sailed to North America. After spending nearly a year in California, they arrived in Salt Lake City in the late spring of 1857. The organ was reassembled in an adobe-walled structure that came to be known as the "Old Tabernacle," built in 1852. When that building was razed in 1877, parts of the organ were used to build a larger instrument for the Assembly Hall, which was completed in 1880.
In 1861, when plans were being made for the present Tabernacle to be constructed, President Young asked Brother Ridges if he could build a large organ that would "be commensurate with the beauty and vastness" of the new building. (Deseret News, Feb. 16, 1901.)
Brother Ridges began work building the organ. In the October 1950 general conference, Elder Levi Edgar Young spoke on the history of the Tabernacle organ. He said: "Elder Ridges was assisted by Shure Olsen, Neils Johnson, Henry Taylor, Frank Woods, and others. Meetings were held with these men almost daily, and the reports of each man's work were heard. While one was collecting various specimens of wood from the canyons of Utah, another was making good tools with which to carve the wood, while still a third man was experimenting in making glue. Specimens of wood were sent by people from all over Utah, and it was finally decided that the best wood was found in the hills around Parowan and in Pine Valley, about three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City. It was a fine grain of white pine variety, free from knots and without much pitch or gum. . . .
"The large pipes, some of which measure thirty-two feet, required thousands of feet of timber. Over the long, lonely roads labored the oxen, day by day, hauling the heavy logs to Salt Lake City.
"About one hundred men were employed constantly in the construction of the organ, and it was dedicated in October 1867. It is a majestic creation, and to this day, thousands come to listen to its melodious strains. It is one of the great instruments of the world."
The Tabernacle organ still holds that distinction of greatness. It has been repaired and expanded over the years. In 1885, Niels Johnson enlarged the organ to include four manuals, 57 stops and 2,648 pipes. He added pneumatic levers to lighten the touch and employed a water-powered system to supply the wind.
Further work was done by the Kimball Organ Company in 1901 and by the Austin Organ Company in 1915, 1916, 1926 and 1940.
A brochure about musical instruments on Temple Square includes this information: "By the 1940s important changes in organ design were taking place. Organists and organ builders were looking to the past to find direction for the future. Organs with high wind pressure, large pipe scales, undeveloped choruses and orchestral voicings were giving way to instruments based on more classical principles of tonal design. Accordingly, the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Mass., was engaged in 1945 to once again rebuild the Tabernacle organ."
When the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company finished its work, the Tabernacle organ was practically a new instrument. Many of the original Tabernacle organ parts were installed in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Auditorium at BYU, said John Longhurst, a Tabernacle organist.
Organ parts retained in the Tabernacle were the case with its 10 original speaking facade pipes, two additional ranks of Ridges' original pipework, and about four ranks from earlier rebuilding projects.
Work by Aeolian-Skinner Company was done under the direction of G. Donald Harrison, who pronounced the project completed on Jan. 16, 1949.
A subsequent renovation was performed on the organ from 1984-1988, by Schoenstein & Co. of San Francisco, which has been commissioned to build the organ for the Church's new assembly hall.
The present organ is not the instrument Joseph Ridges built, although the massive case he constructed is incorporated and a small number of the original pipes remain in use. The case, which features domed tops and carvings, is made of pine grained to look like oak.
The casual observer has no idea just how vast the Tabernacle organ really is, seeing at most 50 of its 11,623 pipes organized into 147 voices (tones) and 206 ranks (rows of pipes) in eight divisions played from five keyboards and pedals. Most of the visible pipes are "show pipes"; only the 10 largest -- which date from Ridges' original organ -- actually work.
Brother Longhurst explained that today's organ is primarily the work of Mr. Harrison, the tonal director for the Aeolian-Skinner Company. Brother Longhurst serves with two other full-time Tabernacle organists, Clay Christiansen and Richard Elliott. Temple Square organists who work part-time on staff are Bonnie Lauper Goodliffe and Linda Swenson Margetts.
Two technicians, Robert Poll and Lamont Anderson, maintain the organ, keeping it in impeccable working order.
All divisions of the organ are located behind the massive casework on the west end of the Tabernacle, except the antiphonal organ, which is located in the lower attic on the east end, projecting sound to the west and creating an interesting acoustical effect of surround sound.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Aeolian-Skinner Company's work on the Tabernacle organ, the Second American Classic Organ Symposium met in Salt Lake City Jan. 14-17. Brother Elliot, one of the symposium's organizers, said that about 200 people from throughout the United States attended, representing the musical gamut of ward organists, professional organists from other faiths, organ builders and people who just love hearing the Tabernacle organ.
A similar symposium was held 10 years ago in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Aeolian-Skinner's rebuilding of the organ and the completion of its renovation by Schoenstein & Co. At this year's symposium were a series of lectures and recitals by internationally renowned organists.
"Perhaps the best thing that was accomplished was that we brought together people from many musical and religious backgrounds, had a wonderful time and felt like we had all been lifted to a higher plane through our common interest and through focusing on the example of excellence that the Tabernacle organ demonstrates," Brother Elliott said.
He observed that 1999 will be a time for blending eras in the history of the Tabernacle organ. The new assembly building north of Temple Square is expected to be completed in time for April conference of the year 2000, he said. "After 1999, the Tabernacle organ will no longer accompany the sessions of general conference, although it will continue to serve not only for the daily organ recitals but also for the Tabernacle Choir broadcasts. We still feel it's a wonderful instrument and it has a great place here and will continue to be one of the crown jewels of Temple Square. But, at the same time, we're saying goodbye to one era and about to usher in a new era."