Now that's a new one on me!

[Contrabombarde]

I spotted this on Ebay:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Standaart-Labial...=item2a13fba941

 

A metal flue that apparently sounds like a clarinet....and what a shape those pipes are! I know of a few organs where multiple flue pipes per note have been used to imitate the harmonics of a reed, but never encoutered anything like this one before. Anyone else come across it?

[Vox Humana]

Fascinating. I wonder who made it.

[handsoff]

Fascinating. I wonder who made it.

 

I can't answer that but the patent stamp on the close-up photograph shows it to be German.

 

Perhaps it would be worth asking the vendor if he has any details?

[Tony Newnham]

I spotted this on Ebay:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Standaart-Labial...=item2a13fba941

 

A metal flue that apparently sounds like a clarinet....and what a shape those pipes are! I know of a few organs where multiple flue pipes per note have been used to imitate the harmonics of a reed, but never encoutered anything like this one before. Anyone else come across it?

 

Hi

Labial reeds have been around at least since the 1800's - often in organs in rural locations where tuner visits were relatively rare. I've come across a handful. The labial "Clarinet" is probably the most common from what I've seen, but "Oboes" are also around.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[Paul Morley]

There is a labial cor anglais on this instrument

 

http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=D08257

[heva]

Judging by the word 'Standaart' I would say it is by the dutch organ organbuilder A. Standaart, who build organs for theatres/cinemas/churches in the first half of the 20th century. Could well be that it originates from a pipework supplier.

[David Drinkell]

I should imagine that Clarinet tone is the easiest to synthesize from flue pipes. Electrones used to be reasonable at flute and clarinet sounds, but less convincing when the harmonic content got more complex.

 

An organ with a string stop called Cor Anglais is pretty sure to be a Bevington. They used such nomenclature as a amatter of routine.

 

Weigle of Stuttgart made a range of 'Seraphon' stops, which I believe included labial reeds. Weingarten had a handful of them at one time.

 

The new Ruffati at Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden includes a labial Clarinet, with pipes from an earlier instrument.

[msw]

The old Estey organ in the St Helena Cathedral (Montana, USA) had a number of reed stops that were not actually reeds - most notably, one of the Swell ranks was a "Saxophone" made up of string pipes.

 

Since the rebuild in 2008 by Wick (http://www.sthelenas.org/music/organ/) some of those stops have been altered, although it is apparently a far superior instrument now with plenty to excite and amaze.

[Nigel Allcoat]

And the other way round is the exceptional reed Viola da Gamba at Alkmaar on the H'werk which must take up a considerable amount of space because of its very wide cone-like pipes. I have always dreamt of having a present-day builder create one. It is so extraordinary with a very gentle buzzy sound which is so like its bowed original in that acoustic.

N

[MusingMuso]

And the other way round is the exceptional reed Viola da Gamba at Alkmaar on the H'werk which must take up a considerable amount of space because of its very wide cone-like pipes. I have always dreamt of having a present-day builder create one. It is so extraordinary with a very gentle buzzy sound which is so like its bowed original in that acoustic.

N

 

 

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

 

 

Indeed Nigel, because we talk about the "Orchestral organ" as being a 20th century phenomenon, but actually, some of the very finest "orchestral" stops are to be found in the old organs. Some of the Schnitger and Hinsz registers are uncannily true to late baroque instruments, and so very beautiful in terms of both solo timbre and blend.

 

Of course, one of the other remarkable sounds is the "tubular bells" combination at Alkmaar, which never ceases to delight and amaze.

 

I would also mention the "Brass Consort" sound at the Martinikerk, Groningen.

 

MM

[David Drinkell]

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

 

 

Indeed Nigel, because we talk about the "Orchestral organ" as being a 20th century phenomenon, but actually, some of the very finest "orchestral" stops are to be found in the old organs. Some of the Schnitger and Hinsz registers are uncannily true to late baroque instruments, and so very beautiful in terms of both solo timbre and blend.

 

Of course, one of the other remarkable sounds is the "tubular bells" combination at Alkmaar, which never ceases to delight and amaze.

 

I would also mention the "Brass Consort" sound at the Martinikerk, Groningen.

 

MM

 

I guess the ultimate in early seventeenth century Hope-Jonesery is the Compenius organ at Frederiksborg.

 

 

[AJJ]

I guess the ultimate in early seventeenth century Hope-Jonesery is the Compenius organ at Frederiksborg.

 

 

 

'Got locked in there once!

 

A

[Contrabombarde]

I got a message from the vendor saying that the pipes were indeed Standaart and came from the Commodore, Hammersmith. If anyone is interested, I note htat they failed to find a bidder.

 

On another website there is a brief description of the organ: 3 manuals, 10 ranks, built by the Dutch firm Standaart and opened by Harry Davidson:

 

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/23034

 

An old "78" recording of Mr Davidson playing this very organ also exists:

 

http://www.theatreorgans.com/southerncross...0-%20Desert.wma

[MusingMuso]

I got a message from the vendor saying that the pipes were indeed Standaart and came from the Commodore, Hammersmith. If anyone is interested, I note htat they failed to find a bidder.

 

On another website there is a brief description of the organ: 3 manuals, 10 ranks, built by the Dutch firm Standaart and opened by Harry Davidson:

 

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/23034

 

An old "78" recording of Mr Davidson playing this very organ also exists:

 

http://www.theatreorgans.com/southerncross...0-%20Desert.wma

 

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

 

 

The Standaart from the Commodore, Hammersmith was integrated with Compton pipework from the Astoria, Finsbury Park, to become the instrument in the Ayelsbury Civic Centre, installed by Noterman and the recently deceased David Pawlin. When I had a go on it, it wasn't in the best of health, but it made some nice sounds.

 

Interestingly, I have two Tuba tabs from the Astoria, Finsbury Park, which I use as key-rings!

 

It's a small world sometimes.

 

MM

[Colin Richell]

With respect did you mean Finsbury Park ?

Colin Richell

[MusingMuso]

With respect did you mean Finsbury Park ?

Colin Richell

 

 

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

 

 

Quite right Colin, Finsbury Park it should have read. I've amended the reply accordingly.

 

MM

[Ian van Deurne]

Adriaan Standaard (1882-1958) was apprenticed to Michael Maarschalkerweerd (1838-1915), of Utrecht, builder of the organ in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

He founded his own firm in Rotterdam in 1904 and at first built instruments mainly for churches until around 1920 when the firm started to concentrate on theater organs, intending to supply silent films with matching music. A few of these instruments still exist e.g in Scheidam.

The firm built most of their organs in modal form, with uniform windchests and tonal specifications and could supply organs at a low price because of this cheaper working method.

In 1923 the firm transferred from Rotterdam to Scheidam and began to trade uder the name "N.V Standaart Orgelfabriek" (Standaart Organ Factory Ltd)

It also opened branches abroad, in Belguim, Britain (near Birmingham I believe), Germany, France, South Africa and Indonisia but suffered during the

stock market crash in the 1930's and filed for bankruptcy.

However, just before this, Standaart and his son Cor managed to set up a maintenac service for organs which they managed to keep out of the bankruptcy which meant that many of their emplyees could keep their jobs.

It would apear though that the second world war finally put paid to the end of the firm, or just afterwards.

[MusingMuso]

Adriaan Standaard (1882-1958) was apprenticed to Michael Maarschalkerweerd (1838-1915), of Utrecht, builder of the organ in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

He founded his own firm in Rotterdam in 1904 and at first built instruments mainly for churches until around 1920 when the firm started to concentrate on theater organs, intending to supply silent films with matching music. A few of these instruments still exist e.g in Scheidam.

The firm built most of their organs in modal form, with uniform windchests and tonal specifications and could supply organs at a low price because of this cheaper working method.

In 1923 the firm transferred from Rotterdam to Scheidam and began to trade uder the name "N.V Standaart Orgelfabriek" (Standaart Organ Factory Ltd)

It also opened branches abroad, in Belguim, Britain (near Birmingham I believe), Germany, France, South Africa and Indonisia but suffered during the

stock market crash in the 1930's and filed for bankruptcy.

However, just before this, Standaart and his son Cor managed to set up a maintenac service for organs which they managed to keep out of the bankruptcy which meant that many of their emplyees could keep their jobs.

It would apear though that the second world war finally put paid to the end of the firm, or just afterwards.

 

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

 

 

Thank you for the information Ian.

 

There is a reasonable recording of the Schiedam Standaart on You Tube, here:-

 

 

(Played by the excellent Jelani Eddington from the USA)

 

 

It's not Wurlitzer or Compton, but quite a unique sound, and of course, extremely rare nowadays.

 

 

I was amazed to read that Standaart opened a place in Birmingham in the UK, as well as in other countries, as did Wurlitzer of course. The theatre organ was quite a profitable business, being especially suited to modular construction and semi-mass production methods.

 

Compton, of course, exported to the Netherlands, with the famous AVRO studio instrument.

 

MM

[emsgdh]

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

 

 

Thank you for the information Ian.

 

There is a reasonable recording of the Schiedam Standaart on You Tube, here:-

 

 

(Played by the excellent Jelani Eddington from the USA)

 

 

It's not Wurlitzer or Compton, but quite a unique sound, and of course, extremely rare nowadays.

 

 

I was amazed to read that Standaart opened a place in Birmingham in the UK, as well as in other countries, as did Wurlitzer of course. The theatre organ was quite a profitable business, being especially suited to modular construction and semi-mass production methods.

 

Compton, of course, exported to the Netherlands, with the famous AVRO studio instrument.

 

MM

Adriaan Standaard was selling organs in the states in the early '50s. I'm not sure if there was a state side factory but I do remember reading about a financial failure. Their advertisements (full page) can be found in the US organ journals of the period.

[Ian van Deurne]

While we're on the subject of theatre organs, it might well be worth remembering that a certian Rudolf Wurlitzer of Cleveland, Ohio first obtained his patents from Robert Hope-Jones of Birkenhead who had been unsuccessful in this line of building in the United States, before he committed suicide.

 

I'm glad you like the Standaart organ in Scheidam. I played it several years ago and found it to be quite charming, as well as made to a very high quality.

 

I also see on this board that the Hoofdwerk, fractional-length Viool di Gamba reed at the Grote Kerk in Alkmaar has been mentioned as being of very wide scale. I think they are confusing this with the Baarpip on the Bovenwerk which is indeed conical and dates from 1685 after certain alterations by Roelf Duyschot which included standardizing the compass of the three keyboards and removing the split accidentals that had been provided originally to assist the organist in accompanying congregational singing, something that this organ has been employed in since its conception. The Viool di Gamba has small cylindrical resonators which widen out into a funnel shape halfway up, only to be continued by an identical funnel with cylindrical tubes at the top. It is also very much smaller in scale to its neighbour, the 4ft Trompet, which incidentally was altered to 8ft pitch by Strumphler in 1782

This rank is also far from unique, although I believe it is the best one of this type made by Schnitger. There is however a similar rank on the Onderpositief (Manual III) at the Grote Kerk in Zwolle, built by Frans Caspar Schnitger in 1721, just before he started work at Alkmaar. This is more than likely due to the organist Gerard Havingha, who had only recently taken up the organist's post at Alkmaar and who was one of the examiners of the Zwolle instrument on its completion and who recommended F.C. Schnitger for the work originally. It should also be said that Havingha had been taught by his father, organist at the Martinikerk in Groningen, rebuilt by Arp Schnitger in 1692 and which also contains a Viool di Gamba reed on the Hoofdwerk, although this might be a later addition by Hinsz, off the top of my head I'm not certain but I will check it out.

 

Regards to all.

Sorry about the typo's in my last post. It was done on a laptop on a moving train!

[MusingMuso]

While we're on the subject of theatre organs, it might well be worth remembering that a certian Rudolf Wurlitzer of Cleveland, Ohio first obtained his patents from Robert Hope-Jones of Birkenhead who had been unsuccessful in this line of building in the United States, before he committed suicide.

 

I'm glad you like the Standaart organ in Scheidam. I played it several years ago and found it to be quite charming, as well as made to a very high quality.

 

 

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

 

 

I think, from what I've seen and played, theatre organs were generally made to a very high quality, and many continue to function perfectly with a little bit of care and attention.

 

MM