The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street New York, N.Y. 10128 http://www.metmuseum.org Equestrian Court                 click on images to enlarge   The Equestrian Court of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in the 1910 Pierpont Morgan wing, was opened as part of "The Armor Hall" on January 18, 1939, to exhibit the Museum's rich and varied collection of medieval and renaissance arms and armor. Clerestory windows provide natural illuminate for the large central hall, which was designed as a high apse with two side aisles, running east and west, and a large cross gallery at its west end. In 1988, the Museum began a $10 million renovation of the Equestrian Court and five adjoining galleries. When the project was completed in late 1991, the Equestrian Court had been cleaned, painted and adorned with new flags bearing the coats of arms of the knights of the Round Table. Three additional galleries were created to exhibit the Museum's collection of Japanese arms and armor, the best outside Japan, which previously had been relegated to storage. There are also galleries for Islamic and American material as well as for the European armor, firearms and swords. This area of the Museum is a very popular destination for children, rivaled perhaps only by the room of dinosaurs across Central Park at the American Museum of Natural History. See also the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium webpage for information on the 1965 Holtkamp organ.               Thomas Appleton Boston, Mass. (1830) Mechanical key and stop action 2 manuals, 14 stops, 16 ranks The organ on the north gallery of the Equestrian Court in the Metropolitan Museum of Art was built by Thomas Appleton of Boston in 1830. It is believed that Appleton originally built the organ for South Church in Hartford, Conn. In 1833, the organ was relocated by Emmons Howard to Sacred Heart Church in Plains, PA, where it was discovered, unused and neglected, in 1980. Appleton built 40 organs between 1821 and 1833. A façade of gold-leafed diapason pipes is displayed in a mahogany Greek Revival case, which stands nearly 15 feet tall. The blowing apparatus, bellows, and key and stop mechanisms occupy the lower part of the case, while the pipes of the Great and enclosed Swell divisions are above, with the Pedal Subbass located behind the case. Tuning is in mean tone temperament pitched at A=435.7 Hz. The Met Museum restored the instrument which ''stands unsurpassed as a working monument to the vitality of music and technology in 19th-century New England,'' according to Philippe de Montebello, director of the Met. Daniel Chorzempa performed the first concert on the restored instrument on November 16, 1982. His program was William Selby's ''Voluntary in A'' and ''A Lesson,'' John Stanley's ''Voluntary'' (Op. 5, No. 8), Mozart's "Andante in F" (K. 616) and "Fantasie in F minor" (K. 608), August Wilhelm Bach's "Concert-Piece in A" and "Prelude and Fugue in D" and Mendelssohn's "Andante in D" and "Sonata in C minor." On November 16, 1982, the Organ Historical Society awarded its distinguished Historical Citation No. 40 in recognition of the Appelton Organ as an outstanding example of organbuilding and worthy of preservation.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes 8   Open Diapason 58 2 2/3   Twelfth 58 8   Stopd Diapason treble [TG] 39 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Stopd Diapason bass 19   Sesquialtera, 3 ranks 174 8   Dulciana 58 8   Trumpet treble [TG] 39 4   Principal 58 8   Trumpet bass 19 4   Flute 58                     Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed 8   Open Diapason 58 4   Principal 58 8   Stopt Diapason treble [TG] 39 8   Hautboy 58 8   Stopt Diapason bass * 19   * unenclosed               Pedal Organ – 27 notes 16   Subbass 27                     Couplers   Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal                                 Sources:      Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Armor Hall," article in Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan., 1939), pp. 1-7.      Hughes, Allen. "Organ: 1830 Appleton," The New York Times, November 17, 1982.      Kimmelman, Michael. "Knighthood Is in Flower Once Again at the Met," The New York Times, Nov. 8, 1991.      The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org      Organ Historical Society web site: http://www.organsociety.org Photos:      Griffin, Evan J.: Appleton Organ      Murphy, Shane: Appleton Organ               | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |