Pierre Lauwers
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Posts posted by Pierre Lauwers
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I think we need to commission some sort of survey to prevent you from saying things like this! There is no reason for a tracker organ to be 'unplayable' after much longer periods than this but the handful of pneumatic organs I maintain all need desperately careful treatment to keep in playing order.
I simply report what I found on the field.
Here is an example of a little pneumatic Link organ:
And when you find one, left alone since many years, if you can start the blower, you go through the notes,
the register knobs, about 20' in order to awake it somewhat, you can try it. It works approximately, out
of tune indeed, but it works. A pypical restoration of such an organ is thorough cleaning and re-leathering
of the action parts, and that's it.
Pierre
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There is another interesting example here:
http://sites.google.com/site/jjbridoux/egl...oussu%5Bbois%5D
Small as it may be, and without maintenance since many decades, this organ
is still great in Brahms. It sounds like a normal 30-stops organ, while built more solid
than a nuclear plant concrete chamber. Of course, the action is pneumatic (otherwise,
it would be unplayable after so many years without maintenance).
The pictures are from my visit there with Mr Wohlleb, Managing director of Gebrüder
Link. We paid much attention to the original tierce mixture. You can see a pipe from the
tierce rank, which is built after the Spitzflöte manner.
Pierre
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There is even no need to go for a romantic stop, the true baroque ones
can give exactly the same effect, without Tschack-Tschack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovFjxHj7PxE
Pierre
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Lovely!
MM
Indeed, agreed ! I never forgot the (leathered) I in W... played Solo as well .
Pierre
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A genuine Arthur Harrison Open Diapason No.1 is a wonderful thing. I think there's nothing wrong with using one as a solo for O Mensch, although there would be plenty of other possibilities too.
Not entirely authentic but then neither is a Grant, Degens and Bradbeer.
He he he.....And if you want the real thing, something like Prinzipal 8' + Viola di Gamba 8' + Traversflöte 8'
on a Trost organ.
Pierre
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Suffice to ask, MM:
(This is a Beuchet-Debierre organ. There are not only ACC organs in France).
If we absolutely needed to "rank" the merits of the organ-builders like the rating agencies
play to to with countries, let me only say this: I would not rank Cavaillé-Coll as the first
one for the 19th century. But as this presents an interest close to nihil, "don't ask, (I) don't tell "!
Pierre
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"Widor, Vierne, Tournemire, Dupré, Langlais, Messiaen...."
(Quote)
All french composers ! Of course this is à la mode. But what about Reger, Elgar, etc ?
The fashions have the drawback that they tend to delete all save their Lieblings of
the very moment....
Pierre
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Another video with the Gebrüder Link organ of the Pauluskirche in Ulm:
Pierre
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The ranking manic, an heritage of the Neo-Baroque period (1: Schnitger. 2): Dom Bédos.
3): Silbermann. The rest: to be either binned or "bettered" according to one of the 3) seems
to begin to be questionned.....
There were indeed several dozens of outstanding builders in Cavaillé-Coll's period. Many are
less well known, built fewer organs, but those left nothing to be desired in comparison.
In France (Merklin, Ghys, Dalstein & Haerpfer, Rinckenbach, to name but a few) in Britain and Germany of course,
The Netherlands, Dennmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg....
Not to forget the U.S. !
Pierre
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Here is a 1911 Mascioni organ whose pneumatic action with membrane chest is described
as very accurate, quick and reliable:
Pierre
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Well thank God for that. I don't have to feel guilty for not clicking on the link.
MM
Oh, it was just intended for you, so that you wouldn't ! (Who said "anyway"?)
Pierre
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Ah, Howells -a case!- Halas the recording quality is very bad, but here is a video posted yesterday:
Denmark also joins the move....
And of course, S-S Wesley had to come with:
Pierre
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A new video from today:
Pierre
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I posted this on FB, where it got quite a number of "likes" from the continent,
but also the US:
(I had a dozen cassettes with such things in my company cars. They
had to be replaced each year because of wear. The cassettes, not the cars).
Pierre
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The "Amalien-Orgel", which was built for the Princess of the same name,
now in Karlshorst-Berlin, has been recently restored; it is an important
historic organ, built by pupils of the great Master Joachim Wagner
(whom I personally rate higher as G. Silbermann).
The first videos appeared on Youtube Today:
See here the Website of the organ:
http://www.amalien-orgel.de/index.php
Pierre
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Hello,
you wanted to know more about the organ. Built in 1910 by Link the organ is located at the Evangelische Pauluskirche Ulm.
Cheers
tiratutti
THANKS !!!!
Of course, a Link organ is a Rolls-Royce. I do not mind the playing, what I hear here is a splendid
balance, while, in such organs, the right hand is often engulfed by the basses.
Pierre
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Changing taste ? As ever since day one....
Are you already ready for things like this ?
Pierre
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Back to the serious things, here is another interesting thuringian
organ -not a Trost, a Rommel-:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG5y6s1ufhU
This another sound we need to learn to live with before we can appreciate.
But this is what Bach had on hand, in a vast country then without cheep planes
and Autobahnen.....
Other video with the same organ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYTR1ib6zrM...feature=related
(By the way, as the Spec is given, note the mandatory Traversflöte is well present; one may suppose
Rommel escaped the garrow that way. Had he not done so, the course of the 20th century might
have changed somewhat, as a potential grand-grand-grand-grand son would'nt have seen
the Tobrouk area...)
Pierre
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Ah! Those neo-classical organ-builders. They haven't a clue.
MM
And here is the next step:
Fortunately I shall soon feed my roses !!!
Pierre
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"Trost was almost the Hope Jones of the early 18th century!"
(Quote)
Indeed he was !
"f I were an important organ composer and then died, I think I would be tempted to haunt those who went trawling around my locality seeking out the evidence of what I heard when I was alive, and for which instruments I may have hypothetically written particular pieces."
(Quote)
This was exactly the argument the neo-baroque thinkers used to be left doing whatever they wanted...
I do not think one should tell the player "now you draw this and that", like with the french organ music.
But the french organs were very homogeneous in their Specifications, while the german organ
were extremely innovative, even experimental.
But whenever you hear such organs in Bach, it is a revelation, with, for example, those Unda-Maris stops....But
well, again, we should all go there in order to really go on.
Pierre
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Well, MM,
I think the german organ-builders of the 18th century were freer, by far,
as long as the Specifications of their organs are concerned, than those
of our "democratic" times !
Pierre
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I wrote "When I shall see the matters here from the other side of the grass (1), you'll
give me to my roses as manure".
(This way, I know my tomb will be flowered.....
)(1)- From a funny saying in my own language: " Wann Ëch d'Sachen vunn d'andere Seit d' Raas seeh"
Pierre
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Wait a minute, MM,
1)- What is the biggest baroque organ we still have in the Bach region ?
2)-Among the reports we have from Bach about the organs he assessed,
what did he praise particularly in the Scheibe organ of the Paulinerkirche ?
3)- Why do we find such "experimental" stops in nearly all village baroque organs
in Thuringia ? (The Traversflöte we heard above is NOT in a Trost...)
Old fashionned music, maybe -but in fashionnable, experimental clothes.....
Pierre
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There are such little gems in the first symphony already:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et2yeK3XKrE...feature=related
....With the french music the first impressions are often deceptive, in that
it seems to be somewhat "light", but this is rarely the case actually.
Another especially beautiful one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5UzvstgxRI...feature=related
Pierre
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Small Willis organs
in The Organ
Posted
It is simply that when you find a tracker organ which has not been serviced since 50 years, you can not
try it without the help of an organ-builder first.
Granted: I won't disturb any more with my weird experience.
Best wishes to all,
Pierre