Organ Design And History: A Brief Bibliography of Sources in English

Information or research assistance regarding organ design and history is frequently requested from the Smithsonian Institution. The following information has been prepared to assist those interested in this topic.

Andersen, Poul-Gerhard. Organ Building and Design. Translated by Joanne Curnutt. London: Allen & Unwin, 1969.

Armstrong, William H. Organs for America: The Life and Work of David Tannenberg. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1967.

Audsley, George A. The Art of Organ-Building: A Comprehensive Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Tonal Appointment and Mechanical Construction of Concert-Room, Church, and Chamber Organs. 1905. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1965.

Bedos de Celles, François. The Organ-Builder. 2 vols. Translated by Charles Ferguson. Raleigh, NC: Sunbury Press, 1977.

Blanton, Joseph. The Organ in Church Design. Albany, TX: Venture Press, 1957.

Clutton, Cecil, and Austin Niland. The British Organ. London: B.T. Batsford, 1963.

Douglass, Fenner. The Language of the Classical French Organ, A Musical Tradition before 1800. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969.

Ferguson, John Allen. Walter Holtkamp, American Organ Builder. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1979.

Fesperman, John. Two Essays on Organ Design. Raleigh, NC: Sunbury Press, 1975.

______. Flentrop in America: An Account of the Work and Influence of the Dutch Organ Builder D.A. Flentrop in the United States, 1939-1977. Raleigh, NC: Sunbury Press, 1981.

______. Organ Planning: Asking the Right Questions. Hymnal series, no. 4. New York: Church Hymnal Corp., 1984.

Ochse, Orpha C. The History of the Organ in the United States. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1975.

Owen, Barbara. The Organ in New England: An Account of Its Use and Manufacture to the End of the Nineteenth Century. Raleigh, NC: Sunbury Press, 1979.

Pape, Uwe, comp. and ed. The Tracker Organ Revival in America/Die Orgelbewegung in Amerika. Berlin: U. Pape, 1978.

Randel, Don Michael, ed. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986.

Williams, Peter F. The European Organ, 1450-1850. London: Batsford, 1966.

______. A New History of the Organ from the Greeks to the Present Day. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980.

Williams, Peter F., and Barbara Owen. The New Grove Organ. New York: Norton, 1988.

Wilson, Michael I. The English Chamber Organ: History and Development, 1650-1850. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1968.

______. Organ Cases of Western Europe. Montclair, NJ: Abner Schram, 1979.

THEATRE ORGANS AND PLAYER ORGANS

American Theatre Organ Society Journal, P.O. Box 2329, Livonia, MI 48150.

Foort, Reginald. The Cinema Organ: A Description in Non-Technical Language of a Fascinating Instrument and How It Is Played. 2d ed. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1970.

Hall, Ben M. The Golden Age of the Movie Palace: The Best Remaining Seats. 1961. Reprint. New York: C.N. Potter; distributed by Crown Publishers, 1975.

Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ. Pasadena, CA: Showcase Publications, 1985.

Landon, John W. Jesse Crawford: Poet of the Organ, Wizard of the Mighty Wurlitzer. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1974.

Prepared by the Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment
in cooperation with Public Inquiry Services,
Smithsonian Institution

PIMS/MUS15/8-97

Smithsonian Information
202.633.1000 (voice)
e-mail: info@si.edu

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