AGO Organ History & Instrument Design 2

Question 1

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811–1899) was the defining master builder of which organ tradition?

Accepted Answer

French Romantic

Answer

German Romantic

Answer

English Cathedral

Answer

American Symphonic

Question 2

The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia is notable for being:

Accepted Answer

The world's largest fully playable pipe organ

Answer

The oldest surviving pipe organ in the United States

Answer

The first American organ to use electric action

Answer

The only major organ to survive the San Francisco earthquake of 1906

Question 3

Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1960) became famous in American organ building for developing:

Accepted Answer

Orchestrally voiced symphonic pipe organs

Answer

Tracker-action Baroque revival organs

Answer

Theater organs with extensive tremolo effects

Answer

Electronic digital pipe organ hybrid systems

Question 4

G. Donald Harrison, who headed Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, is credited with developing which influential American organ aesthetic?

Accepted Answer

The American Classic organ style

Answer

The theater organ revival

Answer

The neo-Baroque tracker movement

Answer

The all-electric digital organ aesthetic

Question 5

The Casavant Frères company, one of the most prolific organ builders in North America, is headquartered in:

Accepted Answer

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec

Answer

Montreal, Quebec

Answer

Toronto, Ontario

Answer

Boston, Massachusetts

Question 6

Charles Fisk (1925–1983) and C.B. Fisk, Inc. became particularly known for:

Accepted Answer

Pioneering American tracker organ building in the neo-Baroque tradition

Answer

Building large theater organs for early 20th-century movie palaces

Answer

Developing the first commercially successful electronic digital organ

Answer

Mass-producing small portable organs for small rural churches

Question 7

The Swell division of a pipe organ is distinguished from other divisions primarily by:

Accepted Answer

Being enclosed in a box with movable shutters for dynamic expression

Answer

Using only reed stops without any flue pipes

Answer

Always being played from the lowest (first) manual

Answer

Containing only the largest, lowest-pitched stops on the instrument