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1 hour ago, OwenTurner said:
Please carry on!
My view and opinion of this forum is that there is a high level of pedantry, blunt opinion and joking. However I also belIeve that contributors are well meaning and supportive and that that might not always come across. As for uninteresting posts, that really depends on what people find interesting, and I’m sure that opinions would be divided on how interesting most topics here are.
I don't know what ells to say other than thankyou.
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1 hour ago, Rowland Wateridge said:
Sorry you may have been put off by others’ (over?)-reactions. What you wrote made perfectly good sense, at least to me. I would have been interested to hear more about this unusual organ, and in particular the relationship of the extended manual compass to the pedals.
Fellow Mander-board members: Niccolo Morandi may not read this. He appears to have removed his name from all previous threads as well as this one. In fact he may have left altogether as his profile is also deleted. Maybe we should be a little more welcoming to someone writing from overseas, but showing interest in English organ matters as well as other topics.
That's alright, things have just been a little difficult with what's been happening at the moment, and I also just didn't feel that what I posted was that interesting.
I'm still happy to post additional information about Pierre-Maurice Branstein's Mutin-Cavaille-Coll organ, such as the specification.
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2 hours ago, Andrew Butler said:
I don't understand what this thread is about?
It's hard to explain. I haven't been doing that well lately, and I also wasn't happy with what I had posted, so I deleted all the text because I can't delete the whole thread. It was just about a Mutin-Cavaillé-Coll organ, that had a compass of 77 notes on each manual.
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I was recently reading about a Mutin-Cavaillé-Coll residence organ that was built for the composer and organist Pierre-Maurice Branstein (1888-1914).
The organ had a console of 4 manuals and pedal, and contained somewhere around 40 ranks of pipes, but what I find interesting about this organ was that all the manuals had a compass of 77 notes starting from CCC. Meaning that the 4' stops were technically 8' stops, while the 8' stops were technically 16' stops. And according to the specification only a small number of stops started from CC.
Obviously a pipe organ with a compass stretching bellow CC is not unheard of, I just think it's a rather unique feature.
Unfortunately I can't find any mention of this organ on the internet, and I've only leaned about it from reading “Pipe Organs of the Rich and Famous” by Rollin Smith. But I am happy to post the specification or any additional information.
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One thing I thing I'd also like to say is that I feel that not everyone understands why people like appreciate the pipe organ, as it's not just about the noises a pipe organ makes.
I have a passion for steam, and not just steam locomotives but also steam power in other forms, such as in pumping stations, and ocean liners. So I took up an interest in the pipe organ because I felt that it was an ideal instrument to express my passion for steam.
And to be honest, if my only interest in the organ was just about the pedals and the ability to create different sounds, I wouldn't be that concerned about playing an instrument that purely sounded like a pipe organ.
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I agree that constantly referring to digital organs as toasters is harsh (partly because I prefer to think of them as microwave ovens). I don't think this is anywhere as bad as what happened at the St. Peter's Basilica, however it does feel a little odd that the Liverpool Cathedral would need such an opulent digital organ.
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I'm sorry, I hope didn't intend to be cynical.
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Just to be clear, I was being sarcastic.
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I recently came across an interesting interview with the organ builder Ron Sharp, who's best known for building the organ of the Sydney Opera House.
To confess I did find the interview at the start a little jarring, as Ron Sharp is quite frail and their was also budgie or something that wouldn't stop making noises. But I did find some of his opinions during the second half quite interesting, as I think his attitudes on things like acoustic reverberation and the balance between bass and treble notes, are quite different to what most people think.
Organs by Ron Sharp
Sydney Opera House
http://www.ohta.org.au/confs/Sydney/GRANDORGAN.html
Knox Grammer School Chapel
https://sydneyorgan.com/Knox.html
Perth Concert Hall
http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/PerthConcertHall.html
St Mary's Catholic Cathedral
Chancel Triforium
http://www.ohta.org.au/confs/Sydney/STMARYSCATHEDRAL.html#S
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3 hours ago, Dafydd y Garreg Wen said:
By contrast there are said to be over 5,000 towers with bells hung for full circle ringing, the indigenous tradition.
Yes, that's a good point as to why there is such a small number of Carillons listed.
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15 or 20 Carillons feels like such a small number, but I guess considering that it is an instrument that can ring out across a whole city or town, you probably don't need so many of these instruments. Plus it's probably not the sort of instrument that has a high demand compared to the Organ.
But I am curious about the number of portable Carillons there are, and if any of the Carillon societies have an idea as to how many of these portable Carillons are out there?
I also recently came across several videos of a series of Carillon performances that have been held for various Nursing homes during the pandemic. The Carillon being used is very similar in design to the one Frank Steijns has.
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A few months back while browsing Youtube, I stumbled across a video of a rather interesting Carillon player who goes by the name of Cast in Bronze, performing on a mobile Carillon named The Millennium Carillon.
I decided to take a look and see if there are any other videos of this Carillon, but what I found surprising is that their is a surprisingly large number of mobile Carillons around. And not only that but even some Carillon players who even have personal touring Carillons. Some examples i could find are Frank Steijns who's part of Andre Rieu's Orchestra, who has a modular Carillon. Another Carillon player is Koen Van Assche, who has a rather unique Carillon called the Bronzen Pianos. And Cast in Bronze, who has a Carillon mounted on a trailer.
It's hard to say how many mobile Carillons are out , but I find that whenever I search for them their is always a video of a Carillon that I haven't seen before.
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Sorry for the late reply, but thank you for the complement. I see what you mean about the Contraforte and the Handpan probably being the only instruments to catch on. The Venova is an interesting instrument, but I suspect it was always intended by Yamaha as just being a toy. And I think the pianos built by David klavins are quite interesting, but I think they're intended mainly for exploring new sounds possibilities rather than being the piano of the future.
The Standing Grand by Future Piano I do have hopes for, because I think this new piano could be ideal for someone looking for a compact acoustic piano with the specification of a concert grand. My only concern is how much will this piano cost? As it may cost a lot than most conventional acoustic piano.
I also decided to go back and take another look around to see if there are any other proposals for a compact acoustic piano. I found another proposal for a lightweight piano by a company called Keybird. The instrument is similar to David Klavins Una Corda as it's basically a small up right piano with a short key compass and only has one string per note. But I'm really impressed with how compact and portable this piano is, and I think it could be ideal for someone interested in having an acoustic piano that can be moved around.
The modern recorders I also think have the potential to catch on, as unlike most other historical instruments the recorder does have a large repertoire of modern music. Plus their are some recorder players who have advocated for a new recorder for playing music of today.
And one last thing- I also just realised that there is also another modern instrument that I forgot to add to the list. This instrument is suppose to be a new type of bowed clavier called the Wheelharp.
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I have often wondered about modern developments in acoustic instruments as to me it feels like most developments in musical instruments of today are mainly in electronic instruments, while acoustic instruments have changed very little over the decades. Of course that's not to say that their hasn't been any development, as instruments made today will have some improvements or changes compared to those made in the 20th century. But what I'm interested in is developments that really stand out, say a grand piano that is designed to be lighter and more transportable. But I guess this does come down to what needs improving, and what can be improved in an instrument. But anyway here is a list I've put together of videos regarding any major developments, and any newly invented acoustic instruments.
Standing Grand
Future upright grand piano made from carbon fiber
David klavins piano builder
Contraforte
Contrabassoon developed by Guntram Wolf
Lupophone
Bass Oboe developed by Guntram Wolf
Venova
Review of a new instrument by Yamaha
Modern Alto Recorder
Modern Recorder by Mollenhauer
Modern Tenor Recorder
Hang
Steel drum developed in Switzerland in the year 2000
RAV Drum
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I don't know if there is any point to this, but here is a link to a listing of a Walker unit organ located in Sydney, for anyone curious about seeing an example of a metal 16' Bourdon.
The reason why I created this thread is because I have seen discussions on the differences between the sound of open woods and open metal pipes, and I was curious if their are also any slight differences between the sound of stopped wood and stopped metal pipes?
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OK, I guess (at least from my perspective) stopped pipe at 16' pitch are traditionally made of wood, but I've noticed that often in some unit organs the bass 16' pipes are sometimes made of metal rather than wood. But I'm curious if their is a difference in the sound between a 16' stopped metal as appose to a 16' stopped wood?
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I was recently thinking about 16' stopped pipes and how they are traditionally made of wood, but I have noticed the odd extension organ will sometimes have a 16' made of metal rather than wood. I'm just wondering about what are difference between using 16' stopped wood and metal pipes as I can't seem to find any opinions on them.
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I just realised that their was a bit of advice I wanted to include in the last post but I had forgot.
What I wanted to say is that if you're searching the internet for house organs, I find using foreign phrases such as Hausorgel, Huispijporgel and L'Orgue Salon I find can also be quite helpful.
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You will have to have to forgive me as I think the issue of under powered organs is more of a separate topic. But I guess the thing I can't get my head around is that I just find it unfortunate seeing something that has had so much effort put into creating like a big concert organ only for the power of the instrument to be just OK. But my biggest problem is that once it's done that's it, there is probably not much that can be done once the instrument is built and installed.
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Recently I was watching a video of someone going over a plan of a model railway they were designing for a client, and while watching I was thinking if only I could find someone to do something like this for my house organ. So rather than try and design an organ from scratch, I'd just submit a floor plan and wish list to an actual organ builder so they can evaluate the space and create a design rather than trying to do this myself
It is a bit strange that a video about model trains would lead me to this idea, but I was impressed with how this person designed this model railway to fit into a rather awkward location and I'm wondering if it would be better to commission a professional to draw up a design. The down side of course is that it would be expensive to commission someone to do this.
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Wow that reminds me of the so called "Organ Spectacular" concert way back in 2007 at the Melbourne Town Hall. I can't remember what the program was or who was performing but I remember that it was an organ and orchestra concert that was about two hours long but contained somewhere around 15 or 10 minutes of organ playing.
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10 hours ago, handsoff said:
The French Horn on the Symphony Hall organ is one of the best reed stops I have heard anywhere. It is absolutely beautiful particularly when the shutters are closed which give an ethereal effect which is a hair raiser. The organ itself is not one of my favourites by any means. It seems to need the chamades to produce anyreal volume and the bottom end appears, to me at least, to be lacking in power with the full organ. I much prefer the one just along the way in the Town Hall.
I once mentioned this to Andrew Fletcher (my DoM at St Mary's Warwick) after a recital at the Town Hall and he said words to the effect that he wouldn't be too bothered if he wasn't asked to play the Symphony Hall organ again but would miss the Town Hall organ terribly if he couldn't play it.
That's unfortunate to hear about a concert being a bit under powered. This is not an organ I have ever heard in person but I'm wondering if this due to the halls acoustics or just the design of the organ.
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I don't know if this would be of any interest.
But there is a website called the Wayback machine that's basically a archive for old websites.
The Mander Organ forum has been documented but only the main page.
I don't think it would be possible to document the whole forum but I was just thinking maybe it might be worth preserving any particular threads for the sake of memories. But that depends if it is possible or even worth doing.
https://web.archive.org/web/20200819195355/https://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/
77 note Residence Organ
in Nuts and bolts
Posted
Here is the specification of Pierre-Maurice Branstein's organ built by Mutin-Cavaille-Coll. The stops for the manuals are listed with two pitches, as the manuals have a compass of 77 notes. I can't say for sure how accurate this specification is, as I find it hard to believe that most of the stops would each have an additional bass octave.
Compass: Manuals, CCC-e5
Pedal, 32 notes CC-g1
*Stops listed in R. Meyrick-Roberts, “The French Organ,” The Organ, no. 16 (1925): 209.
I. GRAND-ORGUE
16 Quintaton
16-8 Diapason
16-8 Flute*
16-8 Bourdon
16-8 Flute d'orchestre
16-8 Violoncelle
8-4 Principal
8-4 Petite Flute*
16-8 Clarinette
II. POSITIF EXPRESSIF
16-8 Principal
16-8 Core de nuit
16-8 Dulciane
8-4 Salicet
8-4 Viole d'amour
5 1/3-2 2/3 Nasard
4-2 Doublette
3 1/5-1 3/5 Tierce
2 2/7-1 1/7 Septieme
16-8 Contre-basson
16-8 Musette*
16-8 Cor d'harmonie
16-8 Hautbois*
16-8 Voix humaine
Tremolo
III. RECIT EXPRESSIF
16-8 Flute traversiere
16-8 Gambe
16-8 Viole
16-8 Eoline*
16-8 Eoline celeste
8-4 Flute octaviante
4-2 Fife
Plein jeu IV
16 Basson
16-8 Trompette harmonique
16-8 Cromorne
8-4 Clarion harmonique
Tremolo
IV. EN CHAMADE
16-8 Tuba
8-4 Trompette
4 Celesta (61 notes)
PEDAL (16' Tirasses begin at C°)
32 Basse acoustique
16 Grosse flute
16 Contrebasse
16 Soubasse (G.-O.)
8 Flute (ext.)
4 Flute (ext.)
16 Tuba magna
16 Clarinette (G.-O.)
COUPLERS
Grand-Orgue [Unison off]
Prolongement treble
Positif au Grand-Orgue
Recit au Grand-Orgue
En Chamade au Grand-Orgue
Positif 16, 4
Prolongement bass
Prolongement treble
Recit 16, 4
Prolongement bass
Prolongement treble
En Chamade au Recit 8
En Chamade 16
Tirasse Grand-Orgue 16, 8
Tirasse Positif 16, 8
Tirasse Recit 16, 8
Tirasse En Chamade 16, 8