The term color organ refers to a tradition of mechanical (18th century), then electromechanical devices built to represent sound or to accompany music, in a visual medium — by any number of means. In the early 20th century, a silent color organ tradition (Lumia) developed. In the 60s and 70s, the term 'color organ' became popularly associated with electronic devices that responded to their music inputs with light shows. A light show consists of lasers which move in a programmed sequence, usually with music that is playing. ...

Chronology of the idea and its various incarnations

The dream of creating a visual music comparable to auditory music found its fulfillment in animated abstract films by artists such as Oskar Fischinger, Len Lye and Norman McLaren; but long before them, many people built instruments, usually called 'color organs,' that would display modulated colored light in some kind of fluid fashion comparable to music. – William Moritz Oskar Fischinger (1900-1967) was an abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter. ... Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye (July 5, 1901 - May 15, 1980), was a New Zealand sculptor, artist, writer and film-maker. ... Norman McLaren, C.C.,C.Q. (April 11, 1914-January 27, 1987) was a Scottish animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada. ...

• In around 1730, French Jesuit monk Louis Bertrand Castel built the Ocular Harpsichord. German composer Telemann went to France] to see it, composed some pieces for it and wrote a book about it. It had 60 small colored glass panes, each with a curtain that opened when a key was struck. In about 1742, Castel proposed the clavecin oculaire(a light-organ) as an instrument to produce both sound and the 'proper' light colors.

• One notable example of color organ construction is the Clavier à lumières invented by British painter Alexander Wallace Rimington [1]. Born in 1854, Rimington's Colour Organ attracted much attention, including that of Richard Wagner and Sir George Grove. It reportedly formed the basis of the moving lights that accompanied the New York premiere of Alexander Scriabin 's synaesthetic symphony Prometheus: A Poem of Fire in about 1915.

• Italian Futurists Arnaldo Ginna and Bruno Corra experimented with "color organ" projection in 1909, painting some nine abstract films.

• Danish-born Thomas Wilfred's color organ, built in the 1920s, was known as the Clavilux[2]. By 1930, he had produced 16 "Home Clavilux" units. Glass disks bearing art were sold with these "Clavilux Juniors." Wilfred coined the word lumia to describe the art.

• In 1925, Hungarian composer Alexander Laszlo wrote a text called Color-Light-Music ; Laszlo toured Europe with a color organ.

• In Germany, from the late 1920s-early 1930s, several color organs were demonstrated at a series of Color Music Congresses. Hirshfeld-Mack performed his Farbenlichtspiel color organ at these Congresses and at several other festivals and events in Germany. He had developed this color organ at the Weimar Bauhaus school, with Kurt Schwerdtfeger.

• The 1939 London Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition featured a "72-way Light Console and Compton Organ for Colour Music", as well as a 70 feet, 230kW "Kaleidakon" tower. [3]

• Oskar Fischinger's Lumigraph displayed colored lights which were manually generated, as it was played accompanying various music. It required two people to operate. Fischinger performed the Lumigraph in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the 1950s. The Lumigraph was licensed by the producers of the 1964 sci-fi film, Time Travelers.

Events Pope Clement XII elected September 17 - Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed III (1703-1730) to Mahmud I (1730-1754) Anna Ivanova (Anna I of Russia) became czarina Births April 16 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. ... Louis Bertrand Castel (15 November 1688 - 9 January 1757) was a French mathematician born in Montpellier, and entered the order of the Jesuits in 1703. ... Georg Philipp Telemann (March 14, 1681 – June 25, 1767) was a German Baroque music composer, born in Magdeburg. ... // Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... The clavier a lumieres was a musical instrument invented by Scriabin for use in his work Prometheus: Poem of Fire. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig[1] – February 13, 1883 in Venice[2]) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... Sir George Grove (August 13, 1820 - May 28, 1900) was an English writer on music, immortalised in the title of Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин, Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin or Skrjabin) (6 January 1872–27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Oskar Fischinger (1900-1967) was an abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The Time Travelers is a 1964 movie starring Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders and Steve Franken, as well as John Hoyt. ...

Further study

• California Institute of the Arts scholar William Moritz has documented color organs as a form of Visual music (q.v.), particularly as a precursor to Visual Music cinema.

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Visual Music is defined several ways. ...

See also

• Visual music

Visual Music is defined several ways. ...

References

• The Dream of Color Music, And Machines That Made it Possible
• Article on Rimington from The Strand including Colour organ photos.
• Visual Music and Early Colour organs.
• Rhythmic Light Extensive timeline, history & bibliography
• Various articles at the Center for Visual Music's Online Library
• Light and the Artist 1947 Thomas Wilfed text (PDF)