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Firmin Swinnen
Firmin Swinnen (1885–1972) was a Belgian theater organist and concert artist who was noted for his organ improvisations during silent films in New York City. Career Born in Belgium, Swinnen became an organist at the Antwerp cathedral, until World War I caused him to flee to the UK. He played many recitals in Great Britain for war charities, and then he moved to the US, where he played the Austin organ in the Rialto Theater in New York City, and then to the Rivoli theater. At the Rivoli, Swinnen specialized in lengthy improvisations during silent films using theater organs - massive pipe organs with a variety of sound effects and percussion sounds. He was organist/choirmaster at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Greenville, Delaware from 1925 to 1956, a church which was supported by the duPont family. He played the organ pedal keyboard solo part in the concerto version Mr. Frank Stewart Adams wrote for the opening Allegro of Widor's Fifth Symphony. Commentators noted that "Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theater Organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of stop tabs (tongue-shaped switches) above and around the instrument's keyboards on their consoles. Theatre organ consoles were typically decorated with brightly colored stop tabs, with built-in console lighting. Organs in the UK had a common feature: large translucent surrounds extending from both sides of the console, with internal colored lighting. Theatre organs began to be installed in other venues, such as civic auditoriums, sports arenas, private residences, and churches. One of the largest theatre organs ever built was the 6 manual 52 rank Barton installed in the Chicago Stadium. There were over 7,000 such organs installed in America and elsewhere from 1915 to 1933, but fewer than 40 instruments remain in their original venues. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience. "Silent film" is typically used as a historical term to describe an era of cinema pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rialto Theatre (New York City)
The Rialto Theatre was a movie palace in New York City located at 1481 Broadway, at the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street, within the Theater District of Manhattan. The 1,960-seat theater opened on April 21, 1916, on the former site of Oscar Hammerstein's Vaudeville venue the Victoria Theatre. Together with Strand Theatre, they were the most important movie theatres on Broadway at the time. It exclusively played Triangle Film Corporation films but beginning in 1919, the Rialto Theatre premiered many releases by Paramount Pictures (then known as the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation) until being supplanted by the newly built Paramount Theatre in 1926 as the movie studio's flagship theater in New York City. When Paramount sold the building in 1935, the Rialto Theatre was demolished and rebuilt on a smaller scale, with the rest of the building dedicated to shops and office space. By the 1970s, the theater had become an adult movie theater. In February 1980 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedal Keyboard
A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long, narrow lever-style keys laid out in the same semitone scalar pattern as a manual keyboard, with longer keys for C, D, E, F, G, A and B, and shorter, raised keys for C, D, F, G and A. Training in pedal technique is part of standard organ pedagogy in church music and art music. Pedalboards are found at the base of the console of most pipe organs, pedal pianos, theatre organs, and electronic organs. Standalone pedalboards such as the 1970s-era Moog Taurus bass pedals are occasionally used in progressive rock and fusion music. In the 21st century, MIDI pedalboard controllers are used with synthesizers, electronic Hammond-style organs, and with digital pipe organs. Pedalboards are also used with pedal pianos and with some harpsichords, cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widor
Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the best known and most often performed works for organ. As of 2022, he is the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years (January 1870 – 31 December 1933). He also was organ professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1890 to 1896 (following César Franck) and then he became professor of composition at the same institution, following Théodore Dubois. Widor was a prolific composer, writing music for organ, piano, voice and ensembles. Apart from his ten organ symphonies, he also wrote three symphonies for orchestra and organ, several songs for piano and voice, four operas and a ballet. He was one of the first composers to use the term "symphony" for some of his organ compositions, helped in this by the or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre S
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation of Aramaic כיפא (''Kefa),'' the nickname Jesus gave to apostle Simon Bar-Jona, referred in English as Saint Peter. Pierre is also found as a surname. People with the given name * Abbé Pierre, Henri Marie Joseph Grouès (1912–2007), French Catholic priest who founded the Emmaus Movement * Monsieur Pierre, Pierre Jean Philippe Zurcher-Margolle (c. 1890–1963), French ballroom dancer and dance teacher * Pierre (footballer), Lucas Pierre Santos Oliveira (born 1982), Brazilian footballer * Pierre, Baron of Beauvau (c. 1380–1453) * Pierre, Duke of Penthièvre (1845–1919) * Pierre, marquis de Fayet (died 1737), French naval commander and Governor General of Saint-Domingue * Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (1895–1964), father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1885 Births
Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant, on Mary Gartside. * January 17 – Mahdist War in Sudan – Battle of Abu Klea: British troops defeat Mahdist forces. * January 20 – American inventor LaMarcus Adna Thompson patents a roller coaster. * January 24 – Irish rebels damage Westminster Hall and the Tower of London with dynamite. * January 26 – Mahdist War in Sudan: Troops loyal to Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad conquer Khartoum; British commander Charles George Gordon is killed. * February 5 – King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State, as a personal possession. * February 9 – The first Japanese arrive in Hawaii. * February 16 – Charles Dow publishes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1972 Deaths
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * February 19 – Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town. * Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius. * Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Organists
{{Disambiguation ...
Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language formerly spoken in Gallia Belgica *Belgian Dutch or Flemish, a variant of Dutch *Belgian French, a variant of French *Belgian horse (other), various breeds of horse *Belgian waffle, in culinary contexts * SS ''Belgian'', a cargo ship in service with F Leyland & Co Ltd from 1919 to 1934 *''The Belgian'', a 1917 American silent film See also * *Belgica (other) *Belgic (other) Belgic may refer to: * an adjective referring to the Belgae, an ancient confederation of tribes * a rarer adjective referring to the Low Countries or to Belgium * , several ships with the name * Belgic ware, a type of pottery * Belgic Confession, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Male Classical Organists
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Most male mammals, including male humans, have a Y chromosome, which codes for the production of larger amounts of testosterone to develop male reproductive organs. Not all species share a common sex-determination system. In most animals, including humans, sex is determined genetically; however, species such as ''Cymothoa exigua'' change sex depending on the number of females present in the vicinity. In humans, the word ''male'' can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity. Overview The existence of separate sexes has evolved independently at different times and in different lineages, an example o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organ Improvisers
Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond organ, an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument ** Pipe organ, a musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air is driven through a series of pipes ** Street organ, a mobile, automatic mechanical pneumatic organ played by an organ grinder ** Theatre organ, a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra Films * ''Organ'' (film), a 1996 Japanese film about organ thieves * ''The Organ'' (film), a 1965 Slovak film Periodicals * Organ, any official periodical (i.e., magazine, newsletter, or similar publication) of an organization * ''Organ'' (magazine), a UK music magazine founded in 1986 * ''The Organ'' (magazine), a quarterly publication for organ enthusiasts, founded in 1921 * ''The Organ'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
