Quintadena

[DouglasCorr]

I notice in the forthcoming Bach programmes on the BBC there are a number of recordings of Karl Richter and the Munich Bach choir. What I particularly used to like about these was that the organ continuo generally featured an unforgettable quintadena stop. I have always been disappointed that this type of stop does not appear more widely in new organ specifications. I would have thought it would be an essential colour for much organ music up to the early 18th century.

[Pierre Lauwers]

I notice in the forthcoming Bach programmes on the BBC there are a number of recordings of Karl Richter and the Munich Bach choir.  What I particularly used to like about these was that the organ continuo generally featured an unforgettable quintadena stop. I have always been disappointed that this type of stop does not appear more widely in new organ specifications. I would have thought it would be an essential colour for much organ music up to the early 18th century.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

....In northern Germany.

Everywhere else where Quintatön or Quintaton is to be found, the actual stop

behind that name is rather a Lieblich Gedackt. This includes Cavaillé-Coll's

16' Quintaton on the swell. And of course southern germany.

 

Best wishes,

Pierre

[MusingMuso]

....In northern Germany.

Everywhere else where Quintatön or Quintaton is to be found, the actual stop

behind that name is rather a Lieblich Gedackt. This includes Cavaillé-Coll's

16' Quintaton on the swell. And of course southern germany.

 

===============

 

 

I think that the best and most useful Quintaton that I ever came across, was a re-voiced Libelich Gedackt by Brindley & Foster. The re-voicing by Hill, Norman & Beard was ingenious, and involved little more than tacking pieces of plywood onto the existing mouth with glue and panel-pins!

 

MM

[John Robinson]

[i think that the best and most useful Quintaton that I ever came across, was a re-voiced Libelich Gedackt by Brindley & Foster. The re-voicing by Hill, Norman & Beard was ingenious, and involved little more than tacking pieces of plywood onto the existing mouth with glue and panel-pins!

 

MM

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And opening the foot holes, perhaps?

 

John

[AJJ]

The treble part of the 16' Swell Bourdon at Bath Abbey was apparently voiced to be used as as a Quintaton in the recent Klais work. With no such stop evident in the stoplist it had to be explained by Peter King the DOM where the characteristic sound was coming from!

 

AJJ

[Guest stevecbournias]

[Pierre Lauwers]

......In northern Germany, you'll find the good ones, made of 90%plus lead

like nearly all the interior pipes of such organs.

An this is the reason they sound magnificent with the dispositions they have.

Now if you copy such specifications with tin pipes, you'll get a...Neo-baroque

organ!

 

Best wishes,

Pierre

[Guest paul@trinitymusic.karoo.co.uk]

......In northern Germany, you'll find the good ones,

 

Don't forget the superb Quintadenas to be found almost everywhere in Holland.

I haven't ever heard a poor one there - most UK examples are excessively forceful in comparison.

[David Coram]

I sadly missed one this afternoon, on an 1850 Gray & Davison. It was added by a gentleman called Robin Winn, and an organbuilder (John Budgen) has taken it out again.

[Pierre Lauwers]

Don't forget the superb Quintadenas to be found almost everywhere in Holland.

I haven't ever heard a poor one there - most UK examples are excessively forceful in comparison.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Northern Germany and Holland are, from a cultural and stylistic point of view,

the same Orgellandschaft. Even the actual languages are nearly the same; the northern

german dialects are understandable in the Netherlands and Flanders.

There is no significant differences with the organs both sides of the border.

 

Best wishes,

Pierre

[pcnd5584]

There is an extremely beautiful Quintatön on the GO of my own church instrument. It possesses an un-forced, singing quality with (naturally) a prominent fifth harmonic.

 

It also makes a surprisingly good sub-unison foundation. It is, furthermore, an interesting occasional alternative to the Pedal Bourdon.

[Jonathan Thorne]

There is also an interesting one on the organ I play at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham as a Quintadena 16 on the Positiv.

[Guest stevecbournias]

:angry:

[Vox Humana]

Better a manual 16ft Quintadena than a Bourdon, I say, but I'm not over-fond of either. St George's, Windsor, has one on the Swell that works well enough and a very different one at 8ft on the neo-Baroque Choir (somewhat reedy in tone). The latter is a useful and distinctive colour that I would be very happy to have in any classically-voiced organ. Not sure I'd want it in a Romantic instrument though.