NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — From Wednesday through Sunday, you can witness a bit of musical history on Royal Street at 11:00 a.m. at The Historic New Orleans Collection. This historic home-turned-museum houses a rare instrument: a play pipe organ.
Interpreters such as Kurt Owens introduce visitors to the music room for a mini-concert and a history lesson. It’s called “The King of Instruments,” and it hits historical high notes as the source of “surround sound” for the wealthy from the 1890s until The Great Depression.
“The organ was built by the Aeolian organ company of New York City, which specialized in the installation in the mansions, town homes, cottages and at least one yacht of the rich and famous,” says Owens.
This musical and mechanical marvel has more than 600 pipes. In 1922, it was priced at $15,750. In today’s money, that would be more than $300,000.
“This was all the rage. This was the highly desirable modern technology that electricity had made possible. And so, people who had electricity were using it for lights, for elevators, for musical instruments,” says Owens, adding, “They were in the homes of Carnegie and Dupont and Vanderbilt, and Ford and Dodge and Woolworth.”
In New Orleans, the one on Royal Street was owned by industrialist and philanthropist William Ratcliffe Irby.
“Mr. Irby, was quite prominent, a real philanthropist, a real preservationist. He was in the business of preserving the old Quarter, and so preserving this continues his desire to save the Old French Quarter,” explains Owens.
“In total, the Aeolian company produced over 2,000 of these hand-crafted, residential organs. Today, very few of them remain. Organs like this are an example of America’s social and cultural history and with the collection’s restoration of this one, we trust that it’s going to be heard for generations to come,” says Owens, who laughs as he explains all the advanced technology that allows him to play the organ with “no training, talent or musical skills!”
It’s musical royalty right at home, on Royal Street. For more information, visit The Historic New Orleans Collection website.
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