"The Mighty Wurlitzer" theatre organ was designed, originally by Robert
Hope-Jones, as a "one
man orchestra" to accompany silent
movies.
In
all, Wurlitzer built over 2,200 pipe organs.
[this mp3 demo was
created using only samples from the Refill]
The largest
one originally built was the 4/58 instrument at
Radio City
Music Hall in New York City.
The Music Hall
instrument
is actually a concert instrument,
capable of
playing classical as well as non-classical repertoire.
It
was the only
Wurlitzer installation still in use that has dual identical, but
independent consoles.
Other
large Wurlitzer organs still in their original locations include the
Fox Theatres in Saint Louis, Missouri and Detroit,
Michigan;
Shea's
Theater in Buffalo, New York; the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville,
Tennessee; the Alabama Theatre in
Birmingham,
Alabama;
Coleman Theatre
in Miami, Oklahoma; the Denver Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado,
and
the Paramount
Theater in Cedar Rapids, IA. Smaller
instruments in
the UK exist in their original installations, such as the
Gaumont
State
Cinema, Kilburn and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom in the UK. These
instruments are still being played
several times a
week.
This Refill is based on one of the smaller models and contains only the
sounds listed in the image below.
It's quite charming to play and with some ingenuity some of the sounds
for example "Chimes" can be tailored to react like sound
effects...Church Bells in the distance, Sleigh Bells, lower the pitch
for bigger bells, you get the idea.
Wurlitzer Theatre Organ
