The E. M. Skinner Organ at Rockefeller Chapel

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Built into the Chapel in 1928, this regal organ is one of two remaining masterworks of the American organ-builder E.M. Skinner which are considered the finest examples of 20th century romantic organs built in America. In this model, Skinner fully invested his genius for realizing a full orchestral sound, with a complete collection of voices and many soft ethereal effects that are no longer found in the organs of today. Many of the large pipe scales, which are necessary to achieve a full sound in a building the size of the Chapel, are no longer built. The Chapel organ includes four manuals and 126 stops on two separate consoles. Its bay of pipes located in the Chapel chancel is a work of art in itself and is an integral element of the interior architecture of Rockefeller.

The "Ideal" Organ

As a young man during the late nineteenth century, Ernest M Skinner dropped out of school after failing a course in Latin and sought work in the music industry. While singing as a tenor in a Pennsylvania church, he was introduced to his first pipe organ, a hand-blown one, which he described as a clumsy instrument. During the next 20 years of his life he sought to correct this clumsiness by introducing a self-playing pipe organ with the ability to emulate all the sounds of a symphony orchestra. By the mid to late twenties, Skinner virtually succeeded in his creation, influenced by French and English organ makers, in particular the Willis Company of England. The Skinner pipe organs could successfully play literature from all eras, including the works of Bach as well as orchestral transcriptions, popular during the early twentieth century.

The Rockefeller Organ (Opus 634)

Installed during 1928 at the very height of Ernest Skinner’s career, the organ was unveiled at a recital by Lynnwood Farnam to a congregation of over 2,500 people on November 1st of 1928. This completed organ originally contained 110 ranks of pipes able to produce countless combinations of sound. In addition to the chancel organ located at the front of the chapel, Skinner installed a gallery organ in the upper balcony of the Chapel, to accompany the gallery choir. The organs can be played independently or as one, using either console.