Main content

4. Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City

Anna Lapwood invites us to join her on tour and on the way discovers an organ whose pipes look like french fries and one that鈥檚 as loud as a jet engine.

Anna is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to visit the Boardwalk Hall organ, which holds multiple world records. Anna demonstrates how much slower she has to play a piece to make it audible in such an enormous space, and shares some of the few recordings that have been made on that instrument. She also finds that there is more to Atlantic City than its organ with 1,235 stop tabs. She explores a barbershop quartet that takes you back in time to the area鈥檚 days as a holiday resort, and discovers recordings by musicians based in and around New Jersey including composer Betty Jackson King and the Attacca Quartet. We also hear from Nathan Bryson, Curator of Organs at Boardwalk Hall, about the second, smaller organ lurking in the same hall.

Plus, an exclusive version of Widor鈥檚 Toccata for spontaneous organ duet where Anna is joined by 9-year-old Nykoda鈥

A Tandem Production for 大象传媒 Radio 3

24 days left to listen

56 minutes

Music Played

  • Alan Menken

    The Bells of Notre Dame

    Performer: Anna Lapwood. Music Arranger: Anna Lapwood.
    • Private recording.
  • Josef Myrow

    On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City

    Lyricist: Mack Gordon. Ensemble: Marquis.
    • NOT ON THE LABEL.
  • Caroline Shaw

    Plan & Elevation (The Orangery)

    Ensemble: Attacca Quartet.
    • NONESUCH.
  • Robert Elmore

    Fantasy on Nursery Tunes

    Performer: Robert Elmore.
    • RCA/MERCURY.
  • Betty Jackson King

    Lullaby

    Performer: Rachel Barton Pine. Performer: Matthew Hagle.
    • CEDILLE.
  • Charles鈥怣arie Widor

    Widor Toccata

    Performer: Nykoda.
    • Private recording.
  • Hans Zimmer

    Cornfield Chase from "Interstellar"

    Performer: Anna Lapwood. Music Arranger: Anna Lapwood.
    • SONY.
  • Howard Hanson

    Nymph and Satyr: III. Scherzo and IV. Epilogue

    Performer: Holly Blake. Orchestra: Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Spalding.
    • NAXOS.
  • Louis Alter

    Manhattan Serenade

    Performer: Harold Stover.
    • ALBANY.
  • Frank Martin

    Mass for Double Choir: I. Kyrie

    Choir: Westminster Choir. Conductor: Joe Miller.
    • WESTMINSTER CHOIR COLLEGE OF RIDER UNIVERSITY.
  • Jule Styne

    Don't Rain on My Parade (Funny Girl)

    Lyricist: Bob Merrill. Singer: Donna Hazelton. Orchestra: Air Studios Orchestra. Conductor: Gareth Valentine.
    • WARNER.
  • Nicolas Saboly

    Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

    Composer: Keith Chapman. Performer: Peter Richard Conte.
    • PRIVATE RECORDING.

Broadcast

  • Sat 9 Nov 2024 13:00

Knock on wood 鈥 six stunning wooden concert halls around the world

Steel and concrete can't beat good old wood to produce the best sounds for music.

The evolution of video game music

Tom Service traces the rise of an exciting new genre, from bleeps to responsive scores.

Why music can literally make us lose track of time

Try our psychoacoustic experiment to see how tempo can affect your timekeeping abilities.

Podcast