Purdue Bells: Shaker Chimes
Purdue Musical Organizations is very lucky to have a rare set of antique Shaker Chimes. There are only 8 sets of shaker chimes in the world. These Deagan Organ Chimes were manufactured from the late 1890's until 1917 by J. C. Deagan of Chicago, Illinois. Deagan was inspired by similar instruments, such as the East Indian Bamboo Anklung, which he experienced on travels to Egypt and Greece while researching ancient musical instrument design. The chimes were crafted by hand of metal and wood and originally used as a novelty instrument in vaudeville and traveling side shows. This instrument is more commonly referred to as "Shaker Chimes" rather than the original name of "Organ Chimes", because of the shaking action used to sustain the tone of the instrument. This name also helps differentiate from the Deagan "Cathedral Chimes" for pipe organs, which are much more widely used and more appropriately referred to as "Organ Chimes."
This 3 1/8 octave set of Shaker Chimes is seven feet long and eight feet tall. The 114 chimes are suspended from the frame in 38 sets of four chimes. The lowest note, (E 3), weights 9 3/4 pounds and the highest note, (F 6), weighs 1 1/2 pounds with the entire instrument weighing in at approximately 184 pounds. The instrument, model number 5407, is tuned to "High Pitch" (either Old English Pitch A=454 or American Standard High Pitch A461).
PMO's set of Shaker Chimes was donated in 1986 by 1911 Purdue graduate and former Purdue Varsity Glee Club member Howard Taylor of Indianapolis, Indiana. Selected members of the Purdue Bells comprise the Shaker Chime Ensemble, which is always a favorite feature at concerts. The debut performance of the Shaker Chimes was at the 54th annual PMO Christmas Show, held in the Elliot Hall of Music, for five audiences totaling over 30,000 people. Since that time, this rare instrument has been fascinating audiences throughout the country.