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small / medium size Organ specification

Started by dragonser, July 13, 2011, 09:51:33 PM

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dragonser

Hi,
rather that continue a previous thread I thought I would start a new one.
A couple of days ago I was able to look at a recently built Pipe organ and thought I would post the specification here. I wasn't able to play the Organ so I can't comment on temperament or what the instrument sounded like. I think this is a small / medium size Organ [ but I guess everything is relative ]

1.Principal   8ft
2.Chimney flute 8ft
3 Principal  4ft
4 Gemshorn  2ft
5 Quartane  1 1/3 + 1 ft

6 Sub bass 16ft
7 Flute 8ft
8 Basson 16ft

9 Gedackt  8ft
10 Spitz flute 4ft
11 Principal  2ft
12 Quint 1 1/3 ft
13 Trumpet 8ft

stops 1 -5  and 6-8 on lhs of console
drawstops
stops 9 – 13  on rhs of console drawstops

manuals [ two ] 58 note  white naturals and black sharps
pedals    30 note

swell pedal  [ affects stops 9 to 13 ?  ]
couplers on toe pistons
sub 11 – 1
11 – 1
11 – P
1- P


any comments would be most interesting !

regards Peter B

David Pinnegar

Hi!

Looks interesting - curious not to have a Nasard as part of the chorus and it's bright having a 1ft and two at larigot pitch. Good for Bach and the like but not obviously looking towards the romantic.

When I first looked at this subject I had the pecularities of the French Baroque in mind, requiring Cornet, Plein Jeu and Cromorne but that's 9 ranks before one starts on the foundations! What is interesting however is the way in which starting the French Cornet at middle C a lot of more expensive pipes are eliminated!

Best wishes,

David P

Jonathan Lane

Dare we ask what size space the organ is in?

Jonathan

pcnd5584

Quote from: Jonathan Lane on July 13, 2011, 10:16:27 PM
Dare we ask what size space the organ is in?

Jonathan

A good question. With a comparatively large amount of upperwork, hopefully not too small.
Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

Jonathan Lane

Well exactly, and something Barry Williams and I have been discussing about house organs.

Jonathan

dragonser

Hi, many thanks for all the replies.
well the Organ is situated in a Church rather than a home situation. if I am able I will try to get to hear the Organ. it is situated on a newly built gallery at the back of the Church.

regards Peter B

Barry Williams

The question of a small pipe organ in the home is always a difficult one.  Space and current fashion indicates single 8' stops on the manuals, with plentiful upperwork.  Yet many friends with instruments looking like this:

I  8' 4' 2/23' 2' 11/3'

II 8' 4' 2' 13/5'

Ped 16'

have told me that they mainly use the 8' stops.  One person even had a sheet of perspex fitted behind the front pipes to attenuate the effect of the upperwork.

Bishops used to make the Carrington Model organ, many of which ended up in homes.  The stop list was, I think:

Gt  OD 8'  St Diap 8'

Sw Gamba 8' Open Flute 4'

Ped Bdn 16'

BF, BM & L and I find that we use mainly 8' and 4' stops on our house organ.  The single 2' is the least used stop, apart from the 4' stops on the Pedal organ, which seem hardly ever to be drawn.

There are some fascinating small stop lists on the Julian Rhodes Organ Website, including some tiny three manual schemes with very clever specifications.

Barry Williams

David Pinnegar

There are possibly three contexts for small instruments

1. Home

2. Small chapel with teaching use

3. Teaching organ in spectacular acoustic but minimum size and cost capable, secondary to a mid-sited romantic instrument, but having maximum impact with possible west end position without interfering with a west end window, ideal for Bach and possibly French Baroque and thus (depricated on the other thread) an En Chamade firing straight down a 200ft uninterrupted length.

Best wishes

David P

pcnd5584

#8
Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 14, 2011, 02:21:48 PM
I've just had a thought - one of my favourite West Gallery-sited instruments - http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=D03104 (a truly stupendous instrument, soon to be reopened by David Briggs - see http://www.sacredheartwimbledon.org.uk/event/inaugural_recital_on_the_restored_organ_rescheduled) has a Swell Dulciana Twelfth. This is of very little use in that space - but could such mild upperwork be useful on a house organ? Save space too, what with the narrow scaling.

To be honest, if given the space, I could hardly think of a better house organ than David's Hunter (judging purely by the stop list - I have yet to hear it). I seem to remember David commenting that the Oboe was very difficult to keep in tune, so one might drop or replace that in a hypothetical instrument, but otherwise its plentiful 8ft tone and lack of upperwork would seem perfect.

In a house organ, I would agree that little or no upperwork is desirable. I confess myself slightly puzzled that so many people specified house organs with several mutations - and even 1ft. stops.

This was confirmed last summer, wnem I happened to discover what used to be Cecil Clutton's former house organ. Whilst it had (obviously) been moved to a new location and may have been a little the worse for wear, I have to say that I thought that it was distinctly unpleasant. I do not recall a single stop which I found tonally satisfying. Given that it had been moved to a moderate-sized room, with a high ceiling, I can only imagine the effect in its original home.
Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

David Pinnegar

#9
Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 14, 2011, 02:21:48 PM
To be honest, if given the space, I could hardly think of a better house organ than David's Hunter (judging purely by the stop list - I have yet to hear it). I seem to remember David commenting that the Oboe was very difficult to keep in tune, so one might drop or replace that in a hypothetical instrument, but otherwise its plentiful 8ft tone and lack of upperwork would seem perfect.

The Hunter at Hammerwood is superb - it is the instrument formerly from the Octagon romm at Addington Palace where it was substantially voiced down but was revoiced when it came here. It had been built for house in Dorking in 1893 and then given to Ewell Congregational Church in the early 20th century for use by C F Waters.

Gt Dulciana, Op Diap, Stopped Diap, Principal, Harmonic Flute 2 (moved from 4)
Sw Diap, Gedakt, Principal, Salicional, Voix Celest, Oboe - voiced near to trumpet
Ped Bourdon

The Salicional and Oboe is on a clampon as is the Gt Harmonic Flute.

I recall that a member of this forum knows a little more about the tonal changes that brought about this structure but as a house organ, it's everything that one needs.

However, in putting the repertoire of the King of Instruments on the concert platform, and raising enthusiasm for the instrument, it's simply not large enough to provide the tone colours to give enough variety. Recordings of it can sound larger than it is but a complete concert on it tires the ear. However, it accompanied the violinist Annette Graudina superbly for a violin - organ recital. The tuning problem is now much relieved by a new false ceiling rooflight which provides better temperature control but some winter dampnes caused part of the windchest to be unglued and it's in an awkward place . . .

I was initially posing the problem, however, of a teaching instrument suitable for Bach and possibly French Baroque in a small chapel or concert hall, or a small organ having big effect as a subsidiary instrument in a large space, possibly a west wall idea . . .

Best wishes

David P

Bruise in the Muttastery

The organ (original stoplist in this thread) is a nice instrument and would be versatile except for Romantic music and some modern.   Personally, I would quickly tire of the upper work.  What I want when I play an organ is colour!

Original stoplist:

1.Principal   8ft
2.Chimney flute 8ft
3 Principal  4ft
4 Gemshorn  2ft
5 Quartane  1 1/3 + 1 ft

6 Sub bass 16ft
7 Flute 8ft
8 Basson 16ft

9 Gedackt  8ft
10 Spitz flute 4ft
11 Principal  2ft
12 Quint 1 1/3 ft
13 Trumpet 8ft

I would change thusly:


1.Bourdon 16 (wood, chimneys from mid-c) 
2.Principal 8 
3 Bourdon 8  (metal)   
4 Octave 4     
5 Spitzflute 4   

6 Dolce bass 16  (open from FFF up - depending upon space/$ ) stopt basses
   Bourdon 16  (great)
7 Flute 8ft   open metal
8 Rankette 16ft

9 Gedackt  8ft
10 Salicional 8ft   
11 Clear Flute 4ft
12 Nazard 2-2/3ft
13 Clarinet 8ft

A manual 16 appears to be an extravagance at first, but it does triple duty, providing weight to the full chorus, a continuo bass stop, as well as an additional unison flute when played an octave higher.

I have an Allen ADC-4000 at home with 28 stops.  I have voiced it so that the unison and octave flu stops are at optimal comfortable volume rather than having a "large" organ sound that is "turned down" to fit the room.

Bruise in the Muttastery