The largest musical instrument in the world is a harmonious fusion of nature and human engineering. Located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the Great Stalacpipe Organ lies deep within the largest series of caves in the eastern United States: Luray Caverns.
Multiple subterranean stalactites comprise a magnificent organ that operates something like a child’s music box. The press of keyboard keys causes rubber-tipped mallets to strike stalactites tuned to concert pitch, causing sounds that resonate sublimely underground.
This incredible instrument is the brainchild of Mr. Leland W. Sprinkle, a mathematician and electronic scientist who formerly worked at the Pentagon. Mr. Sprinkle, from Springfield, Virginia, was visiting Luray Caverns back in 1954 with his 5-year-old son when he observed a tour guide tap a stalactite formation with a mallet to demonstrate the impressive sound it made. Different sizes gave off different tones, and the clever scientist instantly recognized the potential to create melodies.
Guides have been known to play “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and other simple songs. The story goes, Mr. Sprinkle approached the cave administrators and pitched the prospect of a cave organ. An acoustic harmony through Mother Nature inspired him, and he began incubating his idea and putting in work.
On weekends, he spent nights underground, sampling sounds with 13 English tuning forks to find stalactites to match the musical scale. Mr. Sprinkle’s mission was to make these mineral formations hanging from the ceiling sing.
Traditional organs force air through columns of specifically calibrated sizes to control pitch, while Mr. Sprinkle spent an extraordinary amount of time grinding the tips of suitable stalactites to fine-tune the sounds.
Using rubber mallets and the concept of an organ, he created a wholly novel instrument—one that the listener actually stands inside as it plays.
It took three years but he did finally complete his dream. The Great Stalacpipe Organ is inside what is known as the Cathedral Room of the cave system, where there are stalactites of varying lengths and thicknesses spread over 3.5 acres giving off sound.
Occasionally, a pipe organist comes in during tours to demonstrate the otherworldly sounds of the world’s most unique organ. The press of a key sends an electrical impulse to each mechanism, causing a rubber-tipped mallet to strike a stalactite. The resulting sound vibration is heard as an incredibly beautiful musical tone.
These sounds have been described as peaceful and soothing. Organists have said the ambiance of the Cathedral Room lends itself to pieces like Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and some of Bach’s Preludes.
