Books › Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937 › scan 160
Scan 160
Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937
12 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 138. See the scan on archive.org.
1"Many of the stops closely resembled those of the same name in pipe organs." The Euphone "was a remarkable stop its tone being very peculiar, entirely different from that produced heretofore by any free reed." It was an 8 foot tone.
3"The 'Full-Organ' mechanical stop draws the complete power of the two manuals independent of the various stops. The 'Tremulant' acts on the Cornet Anglais alone. The 'Forte Upper Manual' and 'Forte Lower Manual' are separate swells, one for each manual, while the two combined can be operated by the foot. Each stop works on the pneumatic principle, a new feature in reed instruments.
5"The case is an elaborate affair, richly ornamented with walnut carvings and gilt pipes in front. It stands 12 ft. 3 in. high, is 6 ft. 9 in. wide, and 3 ft. 3 in. deep. An elegant carving representing the various instruments from which the stops are named surmounts the top, the whole presenting a very beautiful appearance." 7
7The reed organ was brought to its greatest perfection in the Liszt organ. This had 16, 8, 4 and 2 foot sets of reeds, an "aeolian harp" set, subbass, octave-couplers and a new invention—a pedal point operated by pressing a projection with the knee to retain a note, like sostenuto. Mason & Hamlin introduced in their "Pedal-Organs" a 32' reed, a great and effective novelty in such instruments. All this made it possible to produce tone like the woodwind, brass, string, contra basso and corno of 16' pipe organs. A large library of pieces to be played on it was established and concerts to exploit the instrument were given at [address hidden] where a portion of the second floor had been turned into a concert hall. For a number of years over [address hidden] organs were shipped annually to England alone.
9The business continued to grow and prosper so that, with one possible exception, it was the largest in the United States up to about 1880 when it was making Cabinet, Chapel, Liszt, drawing room models and portable reed organs. Then, however, western manufacturers, who were able to buy materials for less and so to make instruments more cheaply, cut into the volume of business considerably. So the company devoted attention for a time to small pipe organs and then in 1882 the first Mason & Hamlin pianofortes were built. The reed organ gradually became a less and less im-
117 Dwight's Journal of Music Vol. 27, No. 6, June 8, 1867 p. 48. "Great Reed Organ by Mason & Hamlin" from the N. Y. Musical Gazette.
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