Curtis Organ repair plans raise concerns

A controversial proposal calls for replacing the historic organ's old console with an electronic one. Imagine sitting in a vast auditorium of fine wood and marble before a splendorous pipe organ that stretches over the back and side walls like a silver spider, and listening to Bach's famed Toccata and Fugue in D Minor as the ominous opening chords assail you with all the majesty of a full-piece orchestra. Now imagine all of that pared down to a three-minute Internet excerpt squeaked out over tiny computer speakers. Internet sound files are all that is currently standing in for the University's Curtis Organ -- a 10,700-pipe instrument that was the acclaimed centerpiece of Irvine Auditorium -- while the auditorium is under renovation as part of the Perelman Quadrangle project. The 72-year-old organ, capable of sounds as loud as a jet plane's take-off, is one of the largest pipe organs in the world and is considered an exceptional historical artifact because its original mechanical and tonal qualities have been preserved. However, the Curtis Organ Restoration Society, which maintains the organ and sponsors organ events, is worried about the University's new plans to replace the organ console's original machinery with an electronic console that would operate via a computer chip. The console is the part of the organ that sits on the stage and looks like a piano, only with four keyboards instead of one. The rest of the Curtis Organ is comprised of a wind chamber, which holds massive bellows, and some 10,700 pipes that line the walls of Irvine Auditorium. "It's mostly a question of historical integrity," said College freshman Dan Paul, a member of the society. "The organ, when it was built in 1926, was a legitimate work of art and to start tampering with that is a big mistake, I think." Built to commemorate Philadelphia's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the organ was purchased and donated in 1926 to the University by Cyrus Curtis, the publisher of the Saturday Evening Post. "In general, all great educational institutions had a very great pipe organ," said Joseph Dzeda, who is a partner in the A. Thompson-Allen Company, the curators of Yale University's organs. Traditionally, "it was one of the hallmarks of a university's pride in itself." The University has stated a commitment to maintaining the Curtis Organ and preserving its cultural and historical value. However, the organ's pipe, wind chamber and console need costly repairs. It was unclear yesterday exactly how much those repairs would cost. Penn alumnus William Brown offered funds to repair the mechanical console, with the stipulation that it be replaced with a new electronic one in keeping with current organ-repair trends of updating organ consoles with computer chip controls. Without the donation the University does not have the funds to repair the old console. "We agree that we ought to renovate the original console and bring it back to its historical significance," said Max King, assistant vice provost for University life. "But the simple fact is we don't have the money to do that." Instead, after assembling an advisory group that recently released a researched report, the University decided to restore the pipes and windchest with funds from the Perelman Quad budget, the Curtis Organ Restoration Fund and the provost's office. Brown's monetary gift will go toward a new, $180,000 electronic console. The University will restore the old console with its mechanical parts when it raises the funds to do so. King suggested that both consoles could be used simultaneously, allowing organists the opportunity to choose which one they wanted to play. However, members of the Restoration Society see the electronic console as a waste of money because its components, such as a computer chip, will only last four or five years, as opposed to the leather, wire and canvas parts of the mechanical console. "The electronic consoles depend on a technology which is not readily reproducible," Dzeda confirmed. "The first time they encounter trouble, they are replaced wholesale." By the time the electronic console needs replacing, the computer chip that controls it may no longer be available." The advisory board's report also announced that the University will launch a fundraising campaign that will hopefully accumulate the necessary console repair funds within five years. Eventually, the University will endow the organ. The Curtis Organ is usually played during University ceremonies like Commencement and Convocation. The pipes and console are currently in storage with Austin Organs Inc., the organ's original manufacturer, in Hartford, Conn.

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