Extension Organs

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

Rather than fill up this site, I would like to refer readers to The Romantic Organ forum

http://z11.invisionfree.com/The_romantic_o...p?showtopic=143

where they may read of a house organ scheme I have recently completed which was more experimental than most and I believe has had a successful outcome.

 

 

The critical factor was the selection of these five basic ranks:

Bourdon/Flute 16-2'

Diapason 4-2'

Keen String 8-2'

Celeste 4'

Flute Celeste (more-or-less) 4-1.3/5'

 

Fortunately I was building it for/with someone who was prepared to go for something that bit different!

[AJJ]

Rather than fill up this site, I would like to refer readers to The Romantic Organ forum

http://z11.invisionfree.com/The_romantic_o...p?showtopic=143

where they may read of a house organ scheme I have recently completed which was more experimental than most and I believe has had a successful outcome.

The critical factor was the selection of these five basic ranks:

Bourdon/Flute 16-2'

Diapason 4-2'

Keen String 8-2'

Celeste 4'

Flute Celeste (more-or-less) 4-1.3/5'

 

Fortunately I was building it for/with someone who was prepared to go for something that bit different!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Some interesting ideas here - Henry Groves of Nottingham (with Paul hale as consultant) built a small 2 man & ped. extension organ at Epperstone PC some years ago - some ideas from the old Walker 'Positif' organs were incorporated - Mixtures/2's taken from Salicionals/Dulcianas carefully voiced - 'normal' scale and quite melodic in the trebles etc. - not like the old Walker Dulciana Mixtures. The whole effect is said to be quite effective. Likewise the unusual 3 man. in Roger Fisher's Music Room:

 

http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N18266

 

This:

 

http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=H00153

 

also works nicely and is worth a visit. 'Medium sized medieval church with the organ unenclosed on the rood screen. It is not 'Romantic' in concept but a combination of good older pipework and a nice acoustic makes for an effective little instrument.

 

AJJ

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

Some interesting ideas here - Henry Groves of Nottingham (with Paul hale as consultant) built a small 2 man & ped. extension organ at Epperstone PC some years ago - some ideas from the old Walker 'Positif' organs were incorporated - Mixtures/2's taken from Salicionals/Dulcianas carefully voiced - 'normal' scale and quite melodic in the trebles etc. - not like the old Walker Dulciana Mixtures. The whole effect is said to be quite effective. Likewise the unusual 3 man. in Roger Fisher's Music Room:

 

http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N18266

 

AJJ

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Thanks for this. It's an interesting scheme but I'm fairly sure that it has been changed since this NPOR entry, at the hands of Trevor Tipple of Worcester. I'd miss a Celeste - there doesn't appear to be even one. I'm not obsessional about them, but they play an important part in plenty of our literature.

[Tubular_pneumatic]

Mmmm, two celestes in five ranks - I love it! Very well done indeed.

 

My 5-rank spec is much less interesting:

 

Manual I

 

8' Diapason

8' Claribel Flute

4' Gamba

4' Gedeckt

2' Harmonic Piccolo

8' Hautboy

 

Manual II

 

8' Gamba

8' Gedeckt

4' Gamba

4' Harmonic Flute

2' Harmonic Piccolo

8' Hautboy

 

Pedal

 

16' Gedeckt

16' Gamba

8' Diapason

8' Gedeckt

8' Gamba

16' Contra Hautbois

 

Ranks:

 

1. Diapason, spotted metal, slotted - 8' - Unenclosed, 61 pipes

2. Gedeckt, stopped wood, standard mouth - 16',8', 4' - Enclosed, 85 pipes

3. Claribel Flute, open wood, standard mouth, harmonic at C37, 8', 4', 2'- Enclosed, 85 pipes

4. Gamba, spotted metal, slotted - 16', 8', 4', Enclosed, 85 pipes

5. Hautboy, open spotted metal bells, slotted - 16', 8' - Enclosed, 73 pipes

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

Mmmm, two celestes in five ranks - I love it!  Very well done indeed.

 

My 5-rank spec is much less interesting:

 

Manual I

 

8' Diapason

8' Claribel Flute

4' Gamba

4' Gedeckt

2' Harmonic Piccolo

8' Hautboy

 

Manual II

8' Gamba

8' Gedeckt

4' Gamba

4' Harmonic Flute

2' Harmonic Piccolo

8' Hautboy

 

Pedal

 

16' Gedeckt

16' Gamba

8' Diapason

8' Gedeckt

8' Gamba

16' Contra Hautbois

 

Ranks:

 

1. Diapason, spotted metal, slotted - 8' - Unenclosed, 61 pipes

2. Gedeckt, stopped wood, standard mouth - 16',8', 4' - Enclosed, 85 pipes

3. Claribel Flute, open wood, standard mouth, harmonic at C37, 8', 4', 2'- Enclosed, 85 pipes

4. Gamba, spotted metal, slotted - 16', 8', 4', Enclosed, 85 pipes

5. Hautboy, open spotted metal bells, slotted - 16', 8' - Enclosed, 73 pipes

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yours is a perfectly sensible scheme, with two colours that aren't in the one I posted. An oboe is, of course, the best reed to have in a house organ - the Treble can be opened a little as a quasi Trumpet and the remainder ought to blend pretty well. As a full-length reed, it could be expected to stay far better in tune than, for example a Krummhorn!

 

It's a real luxury to have two such thoroughly extended flutes - this would, of course, be valuable in a house organ where one needs variety in the 8's almost more than anything else. For church use, I would miss a Fifteenth, that's all.

 

I did tinker with the idea of giving one a manual an independent section of 8' flute - runing from middle c for two octaves (wiring all the rest into the main flute rank as normal) - perhaps an open wood flute rather than a stopped one for this 'solo range'*. After all, these two octaves are really the only place where that difference would be vital.

 

Unfortunately such extras are a luxury and take up a certain amount of room. There is a limit to how close you can plant pipes in an extension scheme without making the magnets hard to access if any adjustment is necessary.

 

*has anyone tried one main and one supplementary flute rank like this?