The Sydney Opera House Grand Organ is a large pipe organ by Ronald Sharp , located in the concert hall of Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.
It is in six divisions, five manuals plus pedals, and is the largest tracker action organ ever built, with 131 speaking stops served by 200 ranks of pipes consisting of 10,154 pipes. It is a baroque organ in style, and as such has no swell box .
The contract for the construction of the organ was awarded in 1969, during the construction of the Opera House, and the organ was completed in 1979, six years after the opening of the building. Since then the electronics have been updated, including a major refit in 2002, but the musical specification is unchanged from that developed by Sharp starting in 1967.
In addition to its mechanical action, the organ can be played remotely by an electronic system, enabling it to be played from a remote console, or a performance can be recorded by a system built into the keyboards and played back by the electronic action. This system is used by visiting organists to select stops, enabling them to stand in different parts of the hall and hear the results. Its stops are entirely electronically operated and programmed.
External links
Last updated: 08-21-2005 12:07:12
