The Aeolian Pipe Organ played at The Butchart Gardens is an early twentieth century residence instrument equipped with its own pneumatic player. Built by the Aeolian Company of New York this model, once owned by Vancouver department store owner, Chris Spencer, is identical to the one owned by R.P. Butchart and installed in his residence here at Benvenuto. Fully playable manually this organ boasts just under one thousand individual pipes, a set of twenty tubular chimes and a forty-nine note percussive harp. Paper organ rolls display the virtuoso ability of the automatic player to reproduce complex orchestral works. The photograph shows Christopher Ross, great-grandson of the Butcharts, at the keyboard of the refurbished Aeolian Pipe Organ which he helped to restore. Also shown is the roll player, which is an early forerunner of the jukebox, and some of the organ pipes in the loft.
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