The Life Of Joe Chaminade by Bro. Robert Lahey, S. M.
Download now or listen on posterous
Download now or listen on posterous
The Life of Joe Chaminade.mp3 (2912 KB)
Imagine a time when going to the movies was an all-day affair with no color picture and no sound. Doesn't sound like much fun, right? You sat in the theater for 3 or 4 hours at a time, the movie was in black and white, and the actors were mute! Was there complete silence in the room while the movie played? No, not exactly. If you were at a cheap theater in a small town, someone would probably play a piano in the theater to provide a live soundtrack to the film. In a big, fancy theater in a large city, a live orchestra would accompany the movie. But in theaters across America, moviegoers enjoyed the sound of a live theater pipe organ, an instrument most people today have never even heard of.
So what's the difference between a theater pipe organ and say, a modern church organ? Well for starters, many church organs today aren't pipe organs. They're electronic organs. They mimic the sound of a pipe organ, but they're really hi-tech synthesizers with good amplification systems behind them. A traditional pipe organ uses the keyboard to trigger the blowing of air through pipes of varying sizes to create different tones. A good theater organ goes a step further and provides sound effects along with music. This is achieved with actual props that make familiar noises. At my high school, we were lucky enough to have a restored theater organ in the auditorium. That organ has drums, cymbals, whistles, bells, and even an authentic horn from a Ford Model T. The result is a novel and unparalleled moviegoing experience.
Today I actually visited the alma mater for a screening of the 1925 silent classic The Phantom of the Opera. The event was sponsored by the New York Theater Organ Society (NYTOS), a state-wide chapter of the American Theater Organ Society. Just as it would have in 1925, the program opened with a short comedy film. In this case, it was Laurel & Hardy's "Habeas Corpus." I'm a big fan of Laurel & Hardy, but I'd actually never seen any of their silent work. I'm happy to say it was as hysterical as any of their talkies. Then after a word from the organist, the feature presentation began.
I saw Phantom for the first time a few months ago, and I enjoyed the film quite a bit, but there's nothing quite like live organ accompaniment. It was a unique experience indeed. I've been to a number of other NYTOS events, but this was by far the best. I was transported back to 1925. The music kept me totally in the moment. If you ever have a chance to experience a theater organ, absolutely do it. The wide array of available sounds makes a theater organ a one-man orchestra.
Even without the benefit of a film, a theater organ can tell a story in sound. Don't believe me? Listen to the mp3 embedded in this post . I recorded it at my high school during a demonstration a few years back. I love it because it really shows how you can get the feel for a story from the music alone. Imagine adding a silent film into the mix, and you've got yourself a pretty awesome afternoon of entertainment!
Posted via email from Dr. Frank Ramblings, Ph.D.'s posterous
