Evolution of the secular organ performance space: An historical overview

Abstract

The earliest organ was the 3rd century (BC) Greek ‘‘hydraulis,’’ a machine of wind-blown pipes which evolved through Roman and Byzantine eras into a musical instrument, by the 13th century becoming the exclusive domain of the church. The organ remained largely in the church through the 17th century, by which time it had matured into the sophisticated instrument we know today. By the 18th century the organ was being used outside the church, first in royal salons and music rooms. The Hanover Square rooms, complete with a small pipe organ, opened in 1775 and for the next century was London’s principal concert hall. The English ‘‘town hall’’ tradition of organ and choral music began in the mid-19th century, spreading rapidly throughout Britain, and eventually to other countries, most notably Australia and the U.S. Most of the ‘‘great’’ concert halls of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Amsterdam, Boston, Leipzig, Vienna, etc.) included significant organs. The 20th century has seen the widest variety of organ styles and rooms, including sumptuous private residences, massive outdoor exhibition amphitheatres, and extravagant theatre organs. Expansion of higher education beginning in the 1950s brought many important university installations, most recently culminating in highly specalized ‘‘pure’’ organ performance rooms.