Glockenspiel Stop

[Nick Bennett]

The Abbot and Smith instrument at Halifax Parish Church included on the Solo a stop called Glockenspiel. Every glossary of organ stops I have ever seen says that this stop is a percussion affair. This specimen, however, was a three rank mixture.

 

I was hoping to use the NPOR to search for other instances of a mixture called Glockenspiel, but the facility to search by stop name no longer seems to be available.

 

Have any board members ever heard of a Glockenspiel that was a mixture stop?

[David Coram]

The Abbot and Smith instrument at Halifax Parish Church included on the Solo a stop called Glockenspiel.  Every glossary of organ stops I have ever seen says that this stop is a percussion affair.  This specimen, however, was a three rank mixture.

 

I was hoping to use the NPOR to search for other instances of a mixture called Glockenspiel, but the facility to search by stop name no longer seems to be available.

 

Have any board members ever heard of a Glockenspiel that was a mixture stop?

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Yes - St Mary's Calne, Conacher, was on the Echo when it was a 5m, now transferred to Solo.

[Guest Barry Oakley]

The Abbot and Smith instrument at Halifax Parish Church included on the Solo a stop called Glockenspiel.  Every glossary of organ stops I have ever seen says that this stop is a percussion affair.  This specimen, however, was a three rank mixture.

 

I was hoping to use the NPOR to search for other instances of a mixture called Glockenspiel, but the facility to search by stop name no longer seems to be available.

 

Have any board members ever heard of a Glockenspiel that was a mixture stop?

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George Sixsmith installed an Aeolian Skinner Glockenspiel during his rebuild of the 4-manual Hill organ at St Paul's, Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a percussion stop on the solo division, each note needing grinding to bring the pitch into line before installation. It is not, though, a mixture.

[Tony Newnham]

George Sixsmith installed an Aeolian Skinner Glockenspiel during his rebuild of the 4-manual Hill organ at St Paul's, Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a percussion stop on the solo division, each note needing grinding to bring the pitch into line before installation. It is not, though, a mixture.

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Hi

 

I have heard of high pitched mixtures being called Glockenspiel as well as the obvious percussions - just can't remember where in my organ library!

 

I'm not sure why stop search was not implemented on the new NPOR software - but given the sheer number of surveys now n line it could be rather time consuming! You could e-mail the web master and ask if the facility can be reinstated.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[sprondel]

There were, in Orgelbewegung instruments, some examples of high-pitched mixtures called "Glockenzimbel" or similar. They often included a Third.

 

Then there is the "Stahlspiel" Silbermann mentions in several "Vademecums" he wrote for his new instruments. It was a colourful registration including a 4-foot Rohr Flauta, a 1 3/5' Tertia and a 1-foot Sifflet.

 

Another thing is the "Klingende Zimbel" in some historic North-German organs that was intended to top a chorus of flutes, e. g. 8-4-3-2-Zimbel. In the Norden Schnitger, this stop consists of three ranks, breaking on every C and F. On all C's and F's, the Zimbel sounded the same F-Major triad (f'''' a'''' c'''''), so that the Zimbel contained harmonics just for half the octave, non-harmonics far the other half. The effect is dazzling, quite a realistic bell sound.

 

Best,

Friedrich

[Stephen Dutfield]

According to the book "The Organists and Organs of Hereford Cathedral" that instrument included a stop called Glockenspiel 4' in the Echo division, after its 1892/93 rebuild by Father Willis, which was described as "a mixture of Cymbale type."

 

This was removed in the 1908/09 rebuild by HWII and replaced with the still-present gongs, at the time played from the Choir but now on the Solo.

[Malcolm Farr]

The Hill at the Sydney Town Hall has a Glockenspiel of 4 ranks in the Echo. It's a 4-rank pseudo-Cornet with, I think, a composition of 1:12:17:22 throughout.

 

Rgds,

MJF

[AJJ]

St Asaph Cathedral has one on the Great since the recent rebuild by Wood of Huddersfield - I suspect it is a Sesquialtera by another name though - 2 ranks - 12th & 17th.

 

AJJ

[Nick Bennett]

Thanks for the information, chaps. Obviously a Glockenspiel mixture is rare but not unheard of.

 

Arthur Harrison's original specification for the instrument they built in Halifax PC in 1929 includes the Glockenspiel from the previous instrument. Even the organist could only describe it as "not particularly useful but quaint" so it got dropped in favour of a 4ft flute on the pedal. Perhaps we would find more use for what sounds to be a sort of Sesquialtera these days than they did in the 1920's.

 

In fact, the removal of the Glockenspiel and addition of the 4ft on the pedal are the only differences between the original specification and what actually got built. Thus the oft-repeated story that the organist designed the organ in consultation with Arthur Harrison seems to be quite wrong. The organist wrote several letters to Harrison about the specification, but he none of his suggestions found their way into the instrument.

[pcnd5584]

The Hill at the Sydney Town Hall has a Glockenspiel of 4 ranks in the Echo.  It's a 4-rank pseudo-Cornet with, I think, a composition of 1:12:17:22 throughout.

 

Rgds,

MJF

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This is interesting, it is the same composition at CC as a Cavaillé-Coll Carillon III. Having said that, this was the only stop which I do not like on the organ at S. Etieeen, Caen - it made a jangly, unpleasant sound. I was also surprised that it was not on the jeux de combinaisions, but on the jeux de fonds sommier and, as such, remained un-affected by the Positif Anches ventil.