Brooklyn Academy of Music - Brooklyn, NY
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Brooklyn Academy of Music

30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
www.bam.org


Organ Specifications:
► IV/39 Austin Organ Co., Op. 211 (1908) – Concert Hall
► III/8 Austin Organ Co., Op. 232 (1905) – Opera House


The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) was established in 1859 as the home of the Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn. Its first facility, at 176-194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, housed a large theatre seating 2,200, a smaller concert hall, dressing and chorus rooms, and a vast "baronial" kitchen. After the building burned to the ground on November 30, 1903, plans were made to relocate to a new facility in the then-fashionable neighborhood of Fort Greene. Herts & Tallant, a noted theatre architecture firm, designed the new Italian Renaissance-inspired building, which features polychromatic details and entrances decorated with figures singing and playing musical instruments. A series of opening events were held in the fall of 1908 culminating with a grand gala evening featuring Geraldine Farrar and Enrico Caruso in a Metropolitan Opera production of Charles Gounod's "Faust". The Met would continue to present seasons in Brooklyn through 1921.

In the years following World War II, the population center of Brooklyn shifted and BAM's audience and support base declined. In 1967 Harvey Lichtenstein was appointed executive director and during the 32 years that Lichtenstein was BAM's leader, BAM experienced a renaissance. The building has been renovated for new use and is located in the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historical District, designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1978.
               
  Concert Hall - Brooklyn Academy of Music - Brooklyn, N.Y. (photo: Wurts Brothers Photography)
  Concert Hall – Brooklyn Academy of Music
Concert Hall

Austin Organ Company
Hartford, Conn. – Opus 211 (1908)
Electro-pneumatic action
4 manuals, 43 stops, 39 ranks






The Austin organ in the Concert Hall of the Brooklyn Academy of Music was originally built as opus 182 in 1907 for the Jamestown Exposition, a tercentennial celebration of the 1607 founding of Norfolk, Va. Located at Sewell's Point, an area that proved to be more accessible by water than land, the exposition opened on April 26 and closed on December 1, 1907. Due to poor access and low attendance, the exposition was a financial disaster. Only 10 years later, prompted by World War I, the land was redeveloped as the Norfolk Naval Base.

Austin Organ, Op. 182 (1907) in the Jamestown Exposition, Norfolkk, Virginia (Austin Organ Company brochure)  
Auditorium - Jamestown Exposition  
As the official organ of the exposition, the Austin organ was installed in the auditorium building where it was used for more than 300 recitals. The organ received the "highest award and gold medal," and pictures of both sides of the medal were proudly featured in a special brochure about the organ and also in Austin brochures. A semi-circular organ case, built at the rear of the stage by the Exposition Company, included front pipes provided by Austin and finished in French leaf gold bronze. Austin rented the organ to the Jamestown Exposition Company for $3,000, and the contract stated that fee could be applied to the purchase price of $10,000. The Exposition Company did not purchase the organ.

In March 1908, the organ was sold to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for $12,000. Austin moved the organ to Brooklyn in 1908, assigning it as opus 211, where it was installed in the Concert Hall. This organ no longer exists.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
   Major Diapason
61
8
   Claribel Flute
61
8
   Principal Diapason
61
4
   Octave
61
8
   Small Diapason
61
4
   Harmonic Flute
61
8
   Viole d'Amour
61
8
   Trumpet
61

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Violina
73
8
   Diapason Phonon
73
4
   Flauto Traverso
73
8
   Violin Diapason
73
16
   Contra Posaune
73
8
   Viole d'Orchestre
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Echo Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Viole Celeste [TC]
61
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Rohr Flute
73
     Tremulant  

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Geigen Principal
73
2
   Piccolo
61
8
   Dulciana
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Cor Anglais
73
4
   Flute d'Amour
73
     Tremulant  
               
Solo Organ (Manual IV) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Grand Diapason
73
8
   Harmonic Tuba
73
8
   Flauto Major
73
8
   Orchestral Oboe
73
8
   Gross Gamba
73
8
   Saxophone ("resultant"}
—
4
   Flute Ouverte
73
        

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
   Magnaton
32
16
   Bourdon
32
16
   Open Diapason [unit]
44
8
   Gross Flöte [Op. Diap.]
—
16
   Violone [unit]
44
8
   Violoncello
—
16
   Contra Viole [ext. SW?]
12
16
   Trombone [ext. GT Tpt.]
12
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8'   Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8'   Choir to Choir 16', 4'
    Solo to Pedal 8'   Solo to Solo 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Swell Unison Off piston [keycheek]
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir Unison Off piston [keycheek]
    Solo to Great 8', 4'   Solo Unison Off piston [keycheek]
               
Adjustable Combinations
    Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Great stops and couplers
    Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Swell stops and couplers
    Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Choir stops and couplers
    Pistons No. 1-2-3-4 affecting Solo stops and couplers
    Pistons No. 1-2-3-4 affecting Pedal stops
       
Accessories
    Crescendo Pedal [adjustable]   Sforzando Pedal
    Balanced Swell Pedal   Solo to Great Reversible
    Balanced Choir Pedal   Double Touch pistons
    Balanced Solo Pedal   Solo to Great "on" & "off"
    Great to Pedal Reversible   Choir to Great "on" & "off"
               
 
   
  Opera House - Brooklyn Academy of Music - Brooklyn, N.Y. (photo: AJWB Collection)
  Opera House – Brooklyn Academy of Music
Opera House

Austin Organ Company
Hartford, Conn. – Opus 232 (1905)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 43 stops, 8 ranks



This unified organ was built in 1905 and placed on exhibition in the Austin Organ Co. & Works in Hartford, Conn. It was later sold to the Brooklyn Academy of Music and erected on the stage in the Opera House theatre. Austin equipped the organ with a "Self-playing Attachment by which solo effects are obtainable." The organ no longer exists.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
H & B
4
   Octave
H
8
   First Open Diapason
A
4
   Flute
C
8
   Second Open Diapason
H
2 2/3
   Twelfth
G
8
   Rohr Floete
C
2
   Fifteenth
G
8
   Gamba
B
8
   Trumpet
D
8
   Dulciana
G
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes
16
   Bourdon
C
4
   Dolcette
G
16
   Contra Viole
E
4
   Flute
C
8
   Open Diapason
H
16
   Contra Posaune
D
8
   Rohr Floete
C
8
   Cornopean
D
8
   Viole d'Orchestre
E
4
   Clarion
D
8
   Dulciana
G
8
   Oboe
F
4
   Violina
E
     Tremulant  

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
16
   Contra Viole
E
4
   Violino
E
8
   Open Diapason
H
4
   Flute
C
8
   Rohr Floete
C
8
   Oboe
F
8
   Dulciana
G
     Tremulant  

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
   Resultant
A & C
8
   Grosse Floete
A
16
   Open Diapason
A
8
   Flauto Dolce
C
16
   Violone
B
8
   Violoncello
B
16
   Bourdon
C
16
   Posaune
D
16
   Contra Viole
E
8
   Tromba
D
               
Stop Analysis
(A) 16
   Large Open Diapason
73
(E) 16
   Viole
85
(B) 16
   Violone
73
(F)   8
   Oboe
73
(C) 16
   Flute
97
(G)   8
   Dulciana
73
(D) 16
   Chorus Reed
97
(H)   8
   Geigen Principal
73
               
Sources:
     Bowen, Jonathan. Specifications of Austin Organ, Op. 232 (1905).
     Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.
     Ochse, Orpha. Austin Organs. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 2001.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications of Austin Organ, Op. 182 (1907) for Jamestown Exposition, Norfolk, Va.

Illustrations:
     AJWB Collection: interior of Opera House.
     Austin Organ Company brochure: Austin Organ, Op. 182 (1907) in the Jamestown Exposition.
     eBay.com: Undated postcard of exterior.
     Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). Interior of Concert Hall; Interior of Opera House (1905). Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.