{"id":550,"date":"2011-04-04T11:26:07","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T01:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/?page_id=550"},"modified":"2011-04-05T14:31:39","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T04:31:39","slug":"small-organs-a-perspective","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/links\/organ-articles-and-media\/small-organs-a-perspective","title":{"rendered":"Small Organs &#8211; A Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>W. J. Simon Pierce<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Quick! Think of an organ. What do you think of?<\/p>\n<p>Brisbane City Hall? \u00a0Sydney Town Hall? \u00a0Westminster Abbey?<\/p>\n<p>Generally, we tend to associate the pipe organ with large instruments. The Dutch built their large organs in the Seventeenth Century as a matter of civic pride, some even celebrating successful naval battles. The English Victorian organ reached its peak in large cathedrals and town halls. I have just mentioned some large town hall organs here in Australia. Town hall organs always seem to link size and civic pride. Even the machinery and new mechanisms developed to work these monsters were part of the mystique of the large organ. The large organ was a symbol of industrial progress and might, just as much as any dreadnought or steam locomotive.<\/p>\n<p>This infatuation with size even extends to music. When you think of, say, the French Romantic repertoire, a vision of a large Caville-Coll in St-Sulpice or Notre-Dame springs to mind, thundering down a Gothic interior bathed in the light of stained glass.<\/p>\n<p>I am often asked about adding stops to an organ. &#8220;How can I make it louder or bigger?&#8221; the parish council ask. Only later, if at all, does the consideration of musicality and the integrity of the instrument come into consideration. (This brings to mind the old riddle: Why is an organist like an old cab-horse? Because they both always looking for the next stop.)<\/p>\n<p>These perceptions are also based in the organist psyche as well. It needs a certain amount of egotism to play an instrument that bends mere congregations to an organist&#8217;s will or to perform in front of audiences and give two-hour solo recitals. (Careful here, Mr Pierce&#8230;) It is said the church organ is to accompany liturgy but lead singing. This part of the organist&#8217;s personality is almost grounded from the start in the choice of the organ as an instrument. It is the King of Instruments! It is larger and, of course, louder than any other instrument. Who wants to play a single flute when you can have whole ranks of them at your very command? Better still when a battery of trumpets is also at hand.<\/p>\n<p>But musicality is not confined to size or engineering progress. Of course, there are some perfectly hideous large organs. I have merely outlined these ideas to draw out some hidden assumptions when the word &#8216;organ&#8217; is mentioned and expose our prejudices.<\/p>\n<p>I want to examine small pipe organs. They are a totally different concept and instrument to their bigger brothers.<\/p>\n<p>It is better to think of organs as wine. I have used the analogy before but I think it rather pertinent. Even though grapes are fermented to make an alcoholic drink, different wines are achieved by various grape varieties, different fermenting methods and are drunk in different situations. On a hot summer&#8217;s day before lunch try serving up a vintage port instead of a Chardonnay or, even better, a glass of Sparkling Burgundy! You will fail in the hospitality stakes and probably become a social outcast. So, too, with the organ varieties.<\/p>\n<p>It is important to remove any preconceptions and examine the small organ as an entity in itself. Small organs are used in three main areas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The chamber organ<\/strong>, used to accompany other instruments and small choirs. It is normally portable, single manual and without pedals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The practice organ<\/strong>, which has two manuals and pedals so most repertoire can be practised on it but only a few stops and of small dimensions to fit in a house. With more stops it becomes a house organ.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The small church organ<\/strong>, which is designed for small buildings or churches of limited budget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before examining these organs in detail, I would like to make some comments about their general philosophy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Intimacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the greatest advantages and beauties of a small organ is intimacy. The small organ should offer the organist (or would &#8216;player&#8217; be a better word here?) an experience similar to playing other musical instruments. It should offer the feeling of the finger on the string or lips on the mouthpiece. The closeness of the pipes and, hopefully, sensitivity of the action should offer an intimacy not available on larger organs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Action<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The action should be sensitive. It should truly be an extension of the fingers. The action should allow the player to open and close the pallet at any speed the player desires. This control should be the same as the hands and fingers on a violin or the lips of a flautist. If the instrument is properly voiced, the pipes will react differently to the speed of the pallet opening and thus give another very important means of expression. Of course, the action must have some crust to give definition to the action, but not enough to affect the control. Ideally, playing a good action should become a sensuous experience (musically speaking, naturally&#8230;)<\/p>\n<p>By action I have assumed mechanical action. Whilst I would not wish to rule out electric action per se, it cannot compare in reliability or sensitivity. Yes, I know there are touch sensitive electric actions being developed. A good suspended action, however, where the pallet directly holds the key up with only perhaps a roller board intervening is the best and most reliable type of action you could want. The more action parts between the key and pallet, the more the player is distanced from the sound. The simpler and shorter the action, the lesser it is affected by weather changes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pallets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Good action demands a good pallet. For small organs the pallets are the same width as the keys, making the soundboard the same width as the keyboard, with the pipes laid out chromatically. This arrangement is fine but this limits the width of the bars. In the lower notes this can be a problem. If the bottom pipes are going to need a good wind supply, it is better to use a rollerboard and plant some notes on the other side of the soundboard. The pallets need only open as little as 5 mm (as recommended by Schnitger) provided they are long enough. In general, it is the bars that restrict the wind not the pallets.<\/p>\n<p>Now I know you are probably starting to complain. Yes, of course! Larger organs are affected by the same things, all this bloke is doing (you say) is regurgitating organ theory and not talking about small organs. He is waffling more than a Vox Billy Goat on a cold day. What is important here (I say) is to focus on the elements. The tolerances for small organ are far less. Moreover, I want you to become aware of how all these mechanical elements can be made to become a truly intimate musical instrument capable of minute expression. The pallets do affect the break-out or crust of the action. The older, smaller Victorian organs use a backfall action with wide pallets. This gives an initial resistance as the action takes up the slack against the wind pressure holding the large pallet against the soundboard. This gives the &#8216;clunkiness&#8217; typical of these organs. Modern organs using backfalls but with thin pallets they do not have the same crust.<\/p>\n<p>I have found the use of aluminium pallets to be very successful in eliminating cyphers due to pallet warpage. Whilst the use of well seasoned timber helps, a small portable organ will encounter vast changes in environment especially here in tropical Queensland. My small chamber organ has travelled over 6,000 kms without any pallet problems. I like the use of natural materials in small organs, it gives them a very warm and solid feel. Sold timber helps project and resonate the sound. For the pallets, however, my experience dictates the use of a very stable material such as aluminium. The use of pertinax or laminex for slides also keeps the weight down and minimises any warpage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Voicing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now, in mentioning pallets, I must proceed to talk about voicing. It is all very well to have a really superb and wonderful action, but it is wasted when the pipe voicing does not discriminate between key attack and key release. This is a question of voicing rather than scaling. Scaling is the diameter or width of a pipe, mouth width and general cut-up for a given note. Voicing is the art of making the pipe speak. It is combination of final cut-up, flue width, nicking and languid height. The pipes of a small organ should be voiced in the organ and not on a voicing machine. The environment and action of a pipe affect its tone and attack enormously. Voicing it on the soundboard together with the action gives you the perfect match.<\/p>\n<p>As a general rule, the chiff (or overtone) should be heard on the sharp attack of the note whilst only a blossoming of the fundamental should be heard when the key is stroked (or opened slowly). A graduation between these two should be possible depending on key touch. This is important in 8&#8242; ranks, more in Flutes than Principals. It should be less in the 4&#8242; ranks and almost inaudible in the 2&#8242; ranks. I say &#8216;almost&#8217;, but if there are only Flutes underneath the 2&#8242;, then a little bit of chiff is a marvellous thing. Of course this all relates to the combination of stops in the specification. Nicking and chiffs are interrelated. I believe slight nicking is essential in most stops except perhaps wooden flutes. It is a matter of controlling the attack of the pipe.<\/p>\n<p>I also believe people were a little confused in the sixties. Firstly, I think they confused the joy of hearing the attack of the note with the general tone of the pipe. In other words, a lot of organs had plenty of chiff (which was considered a new thing) whilst often the tone or gravitas of the pipe was lacking. Even Victorian organs had chiff, but many had not been cleaned or restored properly at this time and the attack of the pipes had been muted. Part of this confusion is the belief that nicking removes the chiff. It does not. Light nicking is essential to control the chiff so that some of the sizzle in the flue is removed. This then allows the voicer to focus the sheet of air from the flue onto the upper lip to let the tone of the whole pipe develop. The key phrase here is enough nicking. Too much and the tone itself will become dull.<\/p>\n<p>There is a simple test for this. Some organs sound aggressive and loud close up but fade away as you walk away from them. They die very quickly in the building even when it has a good acoustic. Here the supposed pipe tone has been the actual sizzle and wind noise of the top lip. Yes, I even saw nicking and foot-hole control being used on modern organs in Germany, although I am sure this will send some of you into fits of philosophical indignation. The object of voicing is to be able to control the speech of the pipes. The more methods available to the voicer, the better the control. Even the combination of foot-hole and flue voicing helps achieve a controlled result. In a small organ this is critical. This is the reason for voicing the pipes of a small organ in the organ itself. You can then test the nicking, flue width and cut-up with the action. Stroking the keys should remove the attack whilst tapping the key should allow attack and definition according to the rank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thus the music played on the organ can be phrased not only using articulation (i.e. silences between the notes, or the release of notes, perhaps?) but by the amount of attack per note. Obviously more attack or chiff is needed at the beginning of phrases and on the beat of the music. The layout of the small organ soundboard then becomes important. It is tempting to squeeze the pipes into a small soundboard layout for the sake of size. This is, I believe, false economy. It is better to allow sufficient room for the pipes not only to speak but also to bloom. In my two chamber organs I have placed the lowest pipes of the 8&#8242; Stopt Diapason outside the case. This allows plenty of room to position the larger pipes of the other ranks on the soundboard. I also think it advisable to leave a small space around the pipes and the casework. This lessens the effect of the case interfering with speech of the pipes but the case can still be used as a soundboard to project the tone. Ideally, large pipes should be positioned furthermost from the pallet, although on small soundboards this is not quite as critical.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Casework<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Casework should be used as a device to project the sound as well as being beautiful. Small chamber organs usually have doors to protect the pipes when not in use. These doors can also be used to quieten the sound when, say, accompanying a single instrument or voice. I have also found it very useful to have part of the roof hinged so the sound can float up to the ceiling of the room. This will not give any additional volume but helps with projection. Sound coming through the doors may be lost if the people or objects are positioned around the organ (especially if people stand up to sing) but the hinged roof will help project the sound over these obstacles. For small church organs, I prefer the roof of the organ not to be totally enclosed. The sound can then travel up to and along the ceiling of the building. Position here is critical. A small organ in the right location using the building as the soundboard has better projection, clearer tone and (sorry to use the term but&#8230;) a louder sound. Chamber organs, on the other hand, must help create their own acoustic as they are used in different environments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wind Supply<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The wind supply is part of the technique of creating organ tone. Sufficient wind is important from a quiet blower. It must be regulated well enough to remove any differences in pressure from small wind usage to large. In other words, the organ should not change pitch or tone depending on the number of pipes being used. Schwimmers are very compact and ideal for chamber organs. Schwimmers are wind regulators fitted in the soundboard. Bellows are equally as good in church organs where space is not such a premium. However, the wind supply should not be dead. I favour a very slight shake in the wind, which is noticeable in light usage. This should give the vibrato used by all good string players or singers. It adds interest to the sound without detracting from it. It should also be undetectable when the total chorus is used. This gives a special tone to the flutes, that lovely silvery quality which distinguishes a truly beautiful stop.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wind Pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wind pressure should not be too low. We should not confuse light and pleasant tone with low wind pressure. I find it better to have a slightly higher wind pressure and then to regulate at the foot. This ensures the bass pipes will have enough power to bloom. It also ensures the 8&#8242; tone of the organ is sufficient to carry the voices of the upper ranks, providing a good foundation for them. This is part of the idea of the organ creating its own acoustic. A gentle singing quality also needs tone behind it, so that it projects. 3&#8243; of wind pressure can achieve this often better than 2 1\/8&#8243;. Just bear in mind I am talking about &#8216;blooming&#8217; and not &#8216;booming&#8217;. To create beautiful stops you need the right scaling. If the scaling is too small the pipes become squeaky and shrill. The ultimate put-down of an organ is to call it squeaky or a box of whistles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The small organ offers the opportunity of intimate beauty to the player and the listener. Powerful upperwork will not blend with the rest of the chorus in a small organ (and often in large organs). A 1 1\/3&#8242; stop should be able to blend with 8&#8242; on its own. This is intrinsic in a small organ where all parts must blend to offer as many musical combinations as possible. The upperwork should reinforce the harmonics of the lower parts. I favour reasonable scaling in the bottom octaves for the 8&#8242; ranks. Often a Gedact sounds emasculated because it does not have enough tone in the lower pipes to counter the cheerfulness of the upper ranks. I also prefer larger scaling in the upper end of the higher ranks to give them a gentle singing quality rather than shrillness. Shrillness is only pleasant on train whistles and Australian bird calls. Scaling should also be progressive. As the player runs up the stop, the quality of the stop should change and offer the listener a different perspective of the same character. In other words, the tone or colour should change in different octaves whilst still being related. This is perhaps a difficult concept and a question of taste. Basically, all musical instruments change in tone depending on the range in which you are playing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The particular beauty of the organ is that the addition of two stops should give a different character to the sum of the two individual stops. This is blending. It is a combination of scaling and voicing. Take for example the 2&#8242; Principal stop. In the lower octaves it should be gentle yet full of overtones. It should be capable of being played by itself in this area and give a warm, rich and full sound. This will also help give definition to the 8&#8242; and 4&#8242; which may have plenty of tone but less definition. As the 2&#8242; progresses up the keyboard, the overtones should become less, so the stop can hide in the overtones of the fundamental ranks. In this area, the 2&#8242; should add quality rather than power. Taste and the particular usage of the organ will dictate how far the change in tone will occur. A chamber organ accompanying other instruments will want less 2&#8242; tone over the 8&#8242;, whereas a church organ will want more in order to ensure that the pitch and harmonics lead the singing.<\/p>\n<p>This then leads me into the second part of my consideration of small organs &#8211; the specifications. So far I have looked at the mechanism of the instrument and how to design them to give the player as much control over speech, phrasing and tone as possible. The irony of all of this is that the more this is achieved, the less the player is aware of it. Just like the glass of Shiraz sitting on the table; its taste and aroma should give no hint of the effort that has brought it to fruition, its final judgement should be the drinking itself.<\/p>\n<p>In the first part of this article we delved into the world of the small organ being a mechanical entity. We looked at the soundboards, action, winding and scaling that differentiate the small organ from its larger brethren. In other words, it was a tour about the technical philosophy of the instrument.<\/p>\n<p>This part of the article examines the various types or styles of small organs. We have the various ingredients. We need to apply them to particular uses and circumstances.<br \/>\nThe three types of small organs I wish to look at were listed as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Chamber Organ<\/li>\n<li>The Practice Organ<\/li>\n<li>The Small Church Organ<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, Dear Reader, you perceive that I am already in trouble. Is the house organ merely a large practice organ as I claimed? Mmmm, I had better continue and see.<br \/>\nLet me emphasize here that this now becomes a question of personal choice. I am offering general guidelines. These suggestions are a starting point. The scaling and selection of the stops are affected by the particular stops chosen and the acoustics of the room in which the organ finds itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Practice Organ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This organ is for practicing repertoire. It should be capable of playing trios as well as soloing out one voice. It can also easily be fully enclosed so as to be softened for late night practice. Although possessing minimum stops, a good and beautiful stop is one which can be played all day without becoming boring. It is solely designed for practicing and developing proper fingering technique. The simplicity of its action means it is cheap to build and offers a sensitive touch not offered by an electronic. It does not necessarily need any fancy case. It should be easily portable and not need a lot of space in a room.<br \/>\nThe minimum specification should have two manuals and pedals, with a Flute 8&#8242; and Principal 4&#8242; available on each manual and the pedals. The only coupler necessary is a permanent I &#8211; Pedal. To solo one voice the two stops on Manual II are drawn with the flute on Manual I and also thus the Pedals. The Principal should give the definition and the flute should body the sound. The flute can be either a Stopt Diapason or Gedacht. The attack of flute will also aid in accurate playing. The advantage of this type of organ is that it is cheap to build with a minimum requirement of action.<br \/>\nA larger example of this style of organ is the delightful practice organ built by Peter Collins for the University of Queensland and now owned by Phillip Gearing. Its has no couplers and its specification is:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nWood Gedacht 8&#8242;<br \/>\nRohr Flute 4&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 2&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II<br \/>\nRegal 8&#8242;<br \/>\nSpitzquint 1 1\/3&#8242;<br \/>\nGedacht Flute 4&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Ped<br \/>\nDulzian 16&#8242;<br \/>\nQuintadena 4&#8242;<br \/>\nGross Gedacht 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>All division is self-contained. Manual I was often used around Brisbane as a continuo organ. The reeds are important, not only offering colour, but the opportunity of practicing key technique with reeds. It has a plain but pleasant case and a really delightful action. This makes it an ideal practice organ.<br \/>\nThe next approach to the practice organ is to have the full couplers fitted to the action with the following specification:<\/p>\n<p>Man I Flute 8&#8242; Principal 4&#8242;<br \/>\nMan II Flute 8&#8242; Gemshorn 2&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>The Flute is common, i.e. the same pipes are borrowed on both manuals. The Pedal is still coupled. The next step is to add a Pedal stop and I would suggest a large scaled stopped 8&#8242; flute. It should have plenty of definition with the attack. Note that the Collins organ has a large 8&#8242; flute as the basis of the Pedal.<br \/>\nMore stops can be added to this but then should really be considered as a house organ. The simple change in name here implies that the organ is not only for practice, letting the organist hear all his articulation and (hopefully, not many) faults but that it is also designed for a room. This implies that it can create beautiful sounds for an audience as well as the organist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The House Organ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The house organ is designed for a particular room both acoustically and as a piece of furniture. It should have enough stops to play the repertoire desired. This does not necessarily mean that it needs two manual and pedals although this is usual. A chamber organ can be a house organ. The stop list may be the same as a small church organ or a practice organ, but its voicing and scaling will be quite different. The scaling will need to match the room. A church organ is designed to accompany singing as well as liturgy. Therefore, generally its scaling will be considerably larger than that of a house organ.<br \/>\nOops! I can hear you complaining that I have not really defined the practice organ. Why is the specification of the Collins organ a practice organ (you ask) and not a continuo or church organ! Why should the consideration of an audience affect the sound? Every organ book is full of specifications that tell us absolutely nothing about the actual size and loudness of the organ and tells us nothing about the voicing.<br \/>\nWait! O.K. Let&#8217;s look at these differences in another way. The key to working out a design and style of organ is to consider the intended audience.<br \/>\nA practice organ is designed to be heard best by the player. The house organ is designed to be heard best in a particular room to both player and audience when present (does this include the cat?). The church organ is designed to be heard best in a particular space by the audience or congregation. So let&#8217;s turn this into concepts that rely on the proposed audience. It is all about sound projection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sound Projection and Desired Audience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Three concepts here are important:<\/p>\n<p>i) design space,<\/p>\n<p>ii) focal centre of the sound and<\/p>\n<p>iii) focal length of the sound.<\/p>\n<p>Design space: the volume of the space in which the organ is heard to advantage. It also takes into account the acoustics and feel of the room.<\/p>\n<p>Focal centre: the location where the sound is heard the best, i.e. where the sound is aimed.<\/p>\n<p>Focal length: the distance at which the pipes are heard the best.<\/p>\n<p>No! These are not the same ideas in different words, rather the concepts that determine scaling, wind pressure and voicing, and hence the style of organ.<br \/>\nFor the practice organ, the focal centre is crucial. It is to be heard best and clearest by the player. The design space and focal length are unimportant. The focal centre is one metre from the pipes demanding both low wind pressure, small scaling and careful voicing aimed at the effect and subtlety heard one metre away. The Collins organ is a practice organ precisely because it aims at this focal centre a small distance from the pipes.<br \/>\nFor a house organ, the design space is taken into account and the focal length includes both the player and the audience. The focal centre is thus between the player and the furthest member of the audience. The wind pressure and scaling here may be larger but the scaling and voicing will take into consideration the dynamics of the room. I have talked about this before.<br \/>\nThe church organ has a larger design space and the focal centre is situated in the middle of the nave, i.e. where the congregation sits. The focal length is ideally the whole floor area but crucially, the area of the nave or congregational seating. The organist does not need to hear the sound at its most beautiful at the keyboards (fine if it happens); this joy is reserved for the audience.<br \/>\nAn understanding of these concepts is, I believe, fundamental in the success of any pipe organ. How many large organs with a good action fail to project their sound to the audience, no matter how many stops? It is the primary reason for the pipe organ&#8217;s existence. No electronic organ can match a good pipe organ&#8217;s ability to project and sing in a room. When excellent projection occurs, no matter what the stops, it is because the organ has been designed with three concepts correctly understood.<br \/>\nTry using these concepts on the next pipe organ you hear.<\/p>\n<p>Sound projection and Small Organs.<\/p>\n<p>A small organ placed strategically in a building using the previous concepts requires fewer stops than one placed not so advantageously. If placed where the projection is best, it also would have a better tone and clarity. It would be a beautiful organ. If it has a good action as well then it will be a truly beautiful organ.<br \/>\nI recently heard an organ duet with a large organ in a chamber in the sanctuary and a small 5-stop organ at the rear of the church on the floor. No comparison! The small organ was clearer, had a better and warmer tone and was seemingly louder.<br \/>\nPosition\u2026.Position\u2026.Position\u2026.. (yes, old real estate motto but very important.)<br \/>\nSo having made this important digression, let us return to\u2026&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The House Organ 2 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In one sense the house organ is the most personal of all pipe organs. It can be designed for the home and to the particular taste of the owner. Any of the previous specifications will apply. Here are some further samples, all with the usual couplers.<br \/>\nIf you like French Romantic &amp; Caville-Coll music why not:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nMontre 8&#8242;<br \/>\nBourdon 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrestant 4&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II (encl)<br \/>\nGamba 8&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute Harmonique 8&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute octaviante 4&#8242;<br \/>\nBasson-Hautbois 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Pedal<br \/>\nSoubasse 16&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Or a Caville-Coll choir organ from Notre-Dame-De-Victorie:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nMontre 8&#8242;<br \/>\nBourdon 8&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute Harmonique 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrestant 4&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II(encl)<br \/>\nViole de Gambe 8&#8242;<br \/>\nCeleste 8&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute octaviante 4&#8242;<br \/>\nTrompette 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Ped<br \/>\nSoubass 16&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Paris is full of these splendid organs. With so few stops, they still fill a large church with quality sound. Caville-Coll was an expert at judging buildings for sound projection. The scaling could easily be adapted for a house organ. Awwww! (sings) April in Paris.??????? (Shut up, Moriarty!)<br \/>\nA 1972 Collins residence organ for a German inspired alternative:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nHolz Gedacht 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 4&#8242; Block Flute 4&#8242;<br \/>\nOctave 1&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II<br \/>\nRohrflote 4&#8242;<br \/>\nSchwegel 2&#8242;<br \/>\nSpitzquint 1 1\/3<br \/>\nTerz 4\/5&#8242;<br \/>\nRegal 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>I leave you to look up the Schwegel, but it is good with Sauerkraut.<br \/>\nIf you like a traditional English house organ approach, why not copy the Benson in Gympie? A particularly delicious example:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nOpen Diapason 8&#8242;<br \/>\nGamba 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 4&#8242;<br \/>\nOpen Flute 4&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II (encl)<br \/>\nOpen Diapason 8&#8242;<br \/>\nGedacht 8&#8242;<br \/>\nGemshorn 4&#8242;<br \/>\nOboe 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Prefer a more Romantic sound? Across the valley in Gympie is a Willis house organ:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nOpen Diap 8&#8242;<br \/>\nDulciana 8&#8242;<br \/>\nClarabella 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 4&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute 4&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Man II (encl)<br \/>\nOpen Diapason 8&#8242;<br \/>\nGedacht 8&#8242;<br \/>\nGemshorn 4&#8242;<br \/>\nOboe 8&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Ped<br \/>\nBourdon 16&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>It is interesting to observe that the last two house organs now find themselves in churches and thus larger spaces. The Benson is now in a gallery, which thus increase its original focal centre and length, and enables it to project well. The Willis is trapped in a chamber at ground level, which decreases focal centre and length and&#8230; oh dear&#8230;<br \/>\nWhilst all these organs are small, there are choruses on both manuals and a surprising number of sounds are available. All can play repertoire from schools outside their own stylistic roots.<br \/>\nIf you prefer a one manual organ, why not opt for&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Chamber Organ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having consulted my organ references, the best definition is by Roger North in 1690, &#8220;a small organ for a chamber&#8221;. Well, that was helpful. The chamber organ normally has an upright case, single manual and a chorus based on a 8&#8242; flute. It may also have an Open Diapason with a common bass. The design space is the same or larger than that of a house organ, the focal centre is the middle of the room and the focal length is as much of the room as possible.<br \/>\nThe small organ I have built for the Pugin Chapel of St Stephen&#8217;s Cathedral is an ideal example of such an organ. It is upright, single manual with the following specification:<\/p>\n<p>Gedacht 8&#8242;<br \/>\nRohr Flute 4&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 2&#8242;<br \/>\nQuint 1 1\/3&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>It is designed for a specific room and has a chorus. It is designed with a generous focal length for congregational accompaniment but the doors and lid of the case means the volume can be regulated to suit quiet instrumental accompaniment such as a flute. It is also a perfect example of the action and voicing which combine to make a very expressive organ.<br \/>\nI have called the instrument I built for Dr Peter Roennfeldt a chamber organ, although it is actually a portable organ. A portable organ is any organ designed to be moved easily. The Roennfeldt organ&#8217;s specification is identical to the Pugin Chapel organ except that the two-foot stop is a Gemshorn. I call it a &#8216;chamber organ&#8217; because it uses chamber organ scaling. It was designed to accompany small choirs as well as solo and instrumental work. It has also carried some lusty congregations in some weddings that I have been to. If this organ had smaller scaling it could be called a continuo organ. A continuo organ is designed primarily to accompany small instrumental groups and play the figured bass.<br \/>\nThe next stops added to this design of chamber organ would be a 4&#8242; Principal, then an Open Diapason even if it has a common bass with the Gedacht. A Gamba 8&#8242; might be more useful as a quiet stop but can be combined with the Gedacht to give a pseudo Open.<br \/>\nThe chamber organ of Samuel Green, the famous English Eighteenth Century organ builder would include a Twelfth 2 2\/3&#8242;, Cornet and\/or Sesquialtera and a reed. Often these stops were divided into bass and treble ranks. It was possible to play a Cornet Voluntary with the Cornet (treble) drawn and the Stopt Diapason and\/or Open Diapason (Bass) drawn as the left hand accompaniment. The addition of a Cornet to any chorus is a marvellous thing!<br \/>\nThe use of divided stops makes the organ more versatile but also more difficult to register. This is where the stops are divided at (usually) middle C so as to allow solo work for either hand. Any of the one-manual specifications mentioned in this article could also use this technique. I have known it, however, to confuse the reluctant organist and it also makes quick stop changes more difficult.<br \/>\nIt is possible to add pedals to a chamber organ but two manual chamber organs are atypical.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Small Church Organ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The requirement of a church organ is to support liturgy, accompany hymns and provide suitable and inspirational music. It must be beautiful.<br \/>\nIt does not need to be large but big enough for the building. After considering the design space, focal centre and length of the room, most modern churches do not need a large organ, rather a properly designed instrument. One manual is sufficient to carry out this work. The simpler the action, the less the maintenance costs. The fewer the stops, the less the tuning costs.<br \/>\nIt is worth noting that today many church organs are played by pianists who do not use the pedals or play pieces demanding two manuals. A simpler style of organ may well encourage more organists to play better and more artistically. A well-placed chamber organ of 4 stops is quite capable of providing a small church with music. It may not be able to play the vast majority of organ music but it will carry out the job perfectly well as a church organ. It is not supposed to be a concert organ. The chamber organ in the Pugin Chapel does this every week without a problem.<br \/>\nModern church buildings in many cases are not being designed for organs both acoustically and in floor plans. Several churches I have seen recently do not have the space to fit a large church organ. A small chamber organ takes up less room than an electronic. The small two manual Benson organ already mentioned would be ideal in such circumstances.<br \/>\nA small well-positioned church organ offers these advantages over its larger siblings:<\/p>\n<p>a) Less expensive to build<br \/>\nb) Less expensive to maintain<br \/>\nc) Simpler to play and more attractive to the reluctant organist.<br \/>\nd) Able to fit into church buildings not designed for a pipe organ<br \/>\ne) A beautiful small organ will encourage the interested beginner to continue to larger organs. A mediocre larger organ only discourages.<br \/>\nWhat could be simpler to play than a well built mechanical action organ? Such as:<\/p>\n<p>Man I<br \/>\nOpen Diapason 8&#8242;<br \/>\nStopt Diapason 8&#8242;<br \/>\nDulciana 8&#8242;<br \/>\nPrincipal 4&#8242;<br \/>\nFlute 4&#8242;<br \/>\nFifteenth 2&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>Ped<br \/>\nBourdon 16&#8242;<\/p>\n<p>This is a typical specification for the very successful J. W. Walker organs sent to Australia in the Nineteenth Century such as the one in St Mary&#8217;s, Hagley, Tasmania or here in Brisbane at Sacred Heart, Rosalie. These organs are full of soul and have stood the test of time. The lack of a Swell means the Dulciana is an important as the quiet stop during communion. The full chorus means they can more than cope with a full church and they have enough variety for interest.<br \/>\nMy own organ in St George&#8217;s, Mount Tamborine is based on this design with the addition of a Twelfth 2 2\/3, Seventeenth 1 3\/5 and a Mixture III with a Bass Flute 8&#8242; on the Pedal. It is more than capable to providing the music for the liturgy without major expense. It has encouraged the musical life of the parish.<br \/>\nThe other interesting thing about the Tamborine organ is that it has been built in stages. It was planned as an eleven-stop organ and the soundboards were built according to the final design. It started life as a five-stop organ with a common bass for the Open and Stopped Diapason. Each year another rank is added. This another way of buying a pipe organ with a tight budget.<br \/>\nIf two manuals and pedals are deemed necessary, any of the house organ designs could fulfill this role with the adjustment in scaling. Many of them have made the transition successfully. Obviously, extra ranks can be added if required.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This then leads me to the end of my look at the small organ. It is, in a manner of speaking, my end of millennium navel gazing. I believe that the pipe organ is more than capable of surviving in a vibrant way into the next century. It needs, however, a change in the perception and expectation of organists and organ builders. If churches are facing the prospect of less skilled organists then let us give them an instrument that they are comfortable with as well as beautiful.<br \/>\nYou see, that is the problem. Many organs are not beautiful and do not inspire or interest people. Many organs (and, truth to tell, some recent restorations) do not project into the building. They do not make the most of their miraculous pipes and the sound they produce.<br \/>\nIt is also evident that small organs are not only just for churches, but there are a variety of situations where a small organ can participate. And, of course, the more the pipe organ is seen on concert stages, in houses or on street corners, the more renewed interest is created in them.<br \/>\nBut they must be good and beautiful. I have tried to demonstrate how a whole variety of mechanical and musical concepts work together to make a beautiful instrument. The more good instruments there are, the more secure I believe will be the pipe organ&#8217;s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>W. J. Simon Pierce \u00a0Quick! Think of an organ. What do you think of? Brisbane City Hall? \u00a0Sydney Town Hall? \u00a0Westminster Abbey? Generally, we tend to associate the pipe organ with large instruments. The Dutch built their large organs in the Seventeenth Century as a matter of civic pride, some<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":591,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/550\/revisions\/615"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piercepipeorgans.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}