Organ matters - Organs matter!

The original must be restored, of course, and a local, distinguished builder cares for that.
Reasons for copying this organ are many, among which:

-One unique piece is not enough to save the knowledge (one fire, and...!)

-We needed 75 years to understand what a baroque organ is again. So to copy them first
  might be a better way to learn !

Best wishes,
Pierre

The next is one of my "pet" organs, the kind of which I traveled 700 kilometres for
on a Moped (Like Worcester, Aa-kerk Groningen, Saint-Maximin-la sainte Baume...),
and certainly the best I know for Bach.

The work is too-well known, but listen to this with the volume up, and enjoy the incredible colours,
with tierces round your head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8A07eFGB-c

Joachim Wagner was even grandest than the other Wagner.....

It might now be interesting to compare those coulors with those here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ-SzGu-OQk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL


....more than 150 years later....

A 1924 Steinmeyer organ has just been restored in its orgininal state by Seifert of Kevelaer.
Hear the result, which is quite far away from the "mudiness" people imagined not so long ago
with such organs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWgN-yU_bfE

As I said, some surprises are to be expected here. Cyphers are, among others, things
that happen with organs when you visit them in Situ, and so it will be here.
The Marzoli organ, like a Cavaillé-Coll sometimes ? Well, the wind pressure is
54 milimètres throughout, thus about the half....


Here is another special case: We hear here à 8' Principale from the Domenico di Lorenzo da Lucca organ -1509 -1521 in the
Basilica SS Annunziata , Firenze:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUf2YhuurzA

Note how the speech presents a clear, precise articulation, paired with mellowness. This is something
unique.

Best wishes,
Pierre

Of course we need to handle the reference material with caution, but this applies
as well for recent works.
Miller's is, as I said, a pamphlet.
We have to read it as such, but this does not affect its credibility when Miller explains,
for example, why H-J used Quintadenas, how he specified them, and for which uses.
The Withwort book still makes refererence among several builders I know for the
restoration of historic electric organs.
Maybe Hope-Jones has been once over-praised, and is now under-rated; we historians
are more interested with the facts, as you do when citing Hartlepool and Battersea. I would
be interested to learn more about those actions.

Best wishes,
Pierre

The explanations about the History of the electric action are to be find in this work:

http://books.google.be/books?id=0vg5AQAAIAAJ&dq=editions:ISBN091374607X&hl=fr

Halas only in partial view in Google books.

About Hope-Jones, there is an interesting pamphlet, that was completely available on-line with Google,
but only partially by now (this is incomprehensible for so ancient works for wich the copyrightitis craze
should not reing):

http://books.google.be/books?id=2PY5AQAAIAAJ&dq=editions%3ARiI3edMSDSgC&hl=fr&source=gbs_book_other_versions

Best wishes,
Pierre

The electrical parts used by Hope-Jones were still largely experimental. Everyone should understand this !
He used a kind of Chatterton, for example, in places where that material could not resist for long. But nobody
could have known that then, exactly like the new materials largely used in the 60's and 70's of the 20th century did
not always fulfill their claims to reliability and longetivity.
But besides this -and after the knowledge I gained from the Worcester organ-, Hope-Jones still used, then,
rather traditionnal slider-chests. And since they still were in use -modified, of course, but because of the action
changes- in 1978, one cannot really say the craftmanship was "bad".
On the tonal side, Hope-Jones was even more creative than with the action ! It is too short to be content
to mourn about "the lack of any mixture". One must also consider the "built-in extension system" (octave
couplers etc) and the use of apparently rather sharp Quintatöns -Not to mention the "Tiercina" that dissepeared
long before I visited the organ-.
The H-J pipes were of exceptionnal substance and quality, and full of surprises, like those Diapasons phonon with
open-toe voicing....

Best wishes,
Pierre

Organ by Carlo Marzoli, 1926:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPHQgKacrM0&feature=feedwll

The Ripieno of this little post-romantic gem should remember the ones who know Arthur Harrison's work
of something else.

A 1927 Conacher that deserves quite carefull listening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNKOXG4ucuI

A Gustav Heinze "Octopod" -nothing above 4'- pneumatic action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVkeM9LNxgM

I have had one chance, that is, having be able to hear many ancient organs.
Among them, it is often the "little things", often not in a pristine state, that have
much to tell.
I believe the art of voicing emerged in Italy during the Renaissance period. There are ancient
organs there like this one (A Renaissance organ originally, but rebuilt during the baroque period)
that deserve a very carefully listening, despite its modest look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N2OmQZkKU8&feature=share&noredirect=1

(It was restored recently. I might come later with off-tune, scary ones !)

Best wishes,
Pierre

Much of the Diaphone basses are probably still there, since I cannot imagine how they could
remove them without removing some walls. The Vernichtung of the Swellbox already needed
one week with quite convincing tools to be done (it was made of bricks !).
But there is more to this organ than the Diaphones, in that the backbone of the tonal structure
was based on the big one (contrarily to all what followed), not the O.D. II. The "secret" of this organ
was the leathered O.D. I (Phonon) and its 4' Octave (leathered in the lower half of the compass) and
the chorus reeds of the Great, Swell and "Solo" (which wasn't really a Solo, rather an auxilliary Great).
In 1978 the Great reeds were somewhat butchered -in order to give them a "french" flavor no frenchman
would have found- but the Swell ones were better conserved, and were incredibly effective in their brick
Swellbox with shades having the "Sound-trap" system.
There was nothing like the effect of a french "Récit boîte fermée" (closed Swellbox effect) to expect with the reeds on,
but an incredibly wide dynamic range which permitted to accompany whatever choir in whatever music with that
manual. Indeed, the Swell was just above the heads of the singers in the choir, which helped (remember the acoustics
of this sandstone building is a nightmare) somewhat; more, the singers had better to mind to stay in tune, because
the revenge could had been terrible; a single press on the pedal with the full-Swell could have scalped someone.

Best wishes,
Pierre

By Charles de Wolff:

http://pipeorgancds.com/chdewoplmeon.html

The Schyven/ Van Bever organ of Our Lady-Laeken is a fine example of a belgian romantic organ,
half-way between the french and the german styles.

Best wishes,
Pierre

The first symphony of Guilmant in its version for organ and orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJVFSf58ju0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb7HbkCKdd0&feature=autoplay&list=ULvO5UlJ9O-ZQ&lf=mfu_in_order&playnext=1

(Philipp Klais is rather interested with the british romantic organ).

Best wishes,

Pierre

Indeed, this is quite interesting !
On this one we hear Mr Hakim playing this organ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDSfz5HG7AA

Best wishes,

Pierre

.....The paradise on earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIfmQqGlIbI

Noteworthy is -among others!- the articulation of the Principale.

Fine to find you here !
Indeed, the Wagner organs allow the player to have or not tierces in the chorus; there is no tierce
in the Mixture, but well in the "Scharff" (4/5'- 1 3/5'). It is so in all his organs.
You can hear the complete chorus here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8A07eFGB-c&feature=related

(The Angermünde organ was one of my pilgrinage places, one of my preffered organs...)
J. Wagner worked during a time with Silbermann (two years ? This is not precisely known), but his master,
unknown, belonged to the northern school, so that his own style is an incredibly successful synthesis
of central-german, northern, and french ones.
The reed stops may lend towards Silbermann, but on the video I linked to you can hear a rather Schnitger-like
Trompete, while the Vox humana he built after french measures (but with trompete's shallots !)

Best wishes,
Pierre

21 minutes with this outstanding organ, from a builder known to Bach
(He played at least one Wagner organ in Potsdam in recital). I hold Wagner organs
for even more interesting for Bach than Silbermann's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghjTrkUGqfU

Best wishes,

Pierre

"An original improvisation on "Away In A Manger" by Rick Land performed on the world renowned Aeolian Skinner Pipe Organ at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo, Texas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBsFtv49Co

Still with a distinctive "US" feel, and a wondefull organ.

Best wishes,
Pierre

This organ is perphaps the most important milestone in the 21st century to date.
To me, and this may be seen as a paradox, it marks the end of the Neo-baroque period,
which was a period of rather free re-interpretation of the idea we had of ancient organs.
Here, the "real thing" was aimed at, and as a result the tones are radically different from
those of the organs built between about 1945 and 2000:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EBdBD2ZtHo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIHDHlTtuWk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuokxQ3aqy0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

The soft stops (!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPEaGUz_jkI

Best wishes,

Pierre

The church threatens to fall in bits (trees are growing on the roof etc) but the organ is still intact.
There would be an association active to protect the church, but one can guess with little means...
The organ was rebuilt by Beuchet along neo-classical lines.

Best wishes,

Pierre