I would have NEVER thought this. A USB port on this amazing machine. (I KNOW the original designer didn't have this in mind, But, a welcome addition, nevertheless.) steve
Very interesting thank you Richard. God has given you wonderful gifts of mind and body to bring us watchers and hearers great joy and excitement. I am a former (very average) church organist, totally dependant on every note of music being written down in front of me. Your freedom from written music is SO relaxing to watch. I often wonder what is going on in your brain as it manages you multi-tasking.
I'm of the opinion that when Richard Elliott mentions the 3 component parts which make up the organ he's forgetting the fourth. All the technology, both ancient and modern, would be as nothing without someone to make it all speak, and it seems to me that they don't come much better than Richard Elliott.
This gentleman seems a really nice man as well as a brilliant player. The old large mechanical tracker organs made in Germany and the Netherland were some of the most complicated things out there: sublime craftsmenship.
You have to love the magnificent job that Aeoline Skinner did in manufacturing that organ and incorporating the original organ.... the acoustics are incredible ( those early saints had to be blessed by God to come up with this design ) Everything came together at a specific time and place (Aeoline Skinner no longer is in existence, their golden years were when this organ was built )
YAY, Mr. Elliott!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your great skill and talent with us for all these years. I have always enjoyed your playing and that grand old organ. You are, indeed, a maestro!!
This is something every musician has to hear in person ! I never new that this was like the first surround sound instrument ! Incredible ! I went up as a kid ,too young . When I came back to church and put my heavy metal music on the back burner ,for almost years ,I went up to do family history work and check out temple square ,since I had come back ,I wanted to hear and see everything , I eventually moved to southern Utah , but after a divorce , job loss,and head collision ,the only place at the time was home. Anyway ,they have an organ recital every week as well as a choir recital and live broadcast , all free ,you just need tickets . Make sure you go to the Tabernacle , that is the greatest one to me ,the newer one in the conference center is great ,but it is all high tech to try and replicate the tabernacle , and you really can't . I highly recommend it !
Thanks, Rick! That was super interesting! Mack has mentioned how much you organists have going on whenever the organ is played. Now I think I get a glimmer of what that means!
so you are playing Mozart, which is quite difficult to play already, and you have to remember what to pull or to press out of that ton of buttons and pedals? and I thought playing drums was difficult...
Most organists will write notes in the music to remind them to press a certain piston or stud at a certain point or pull out a stop or two. It takes a lot of focus when playing repertoire like that, which is why it takes a lot of brainpower and focus to play the pipe organ.
I just love the pipe organ and can't get enough of it. I grew up listening to one at the Old Carmel Mission Basilica, and continue to listen to the pipe organ in Christ Cathedral's Arboretum building. I was even lucky enough to visit the Mormon Tabernacle Organ in Salt Lake City and many other giants in multiple cathedrals and churches across the US, Canada, and Europe, and all were equally beautiful in their own ways. There's something extra special about the pipe organ over other instruments that is just unexplainable. Their massive size and incredible sound just make them almost impossible to rival, so it's no wonder they are the King Of Instruments. Nothing beats a pipe organ. :)
And I don't think anything will,...although digital technology is getting damn close to giving us that sound,..but still,...I don't think real wind blown pipes will ever be beat!
Rich; I have a technical question: About the air pressure or air volume going to the pipes, when many valves are opened at the same time for many pipes in that same air box, technically speaking the air volume or air pressure will drop due the large demand of air for that box. In this case the sound volume for each pipe on that box will tend to be lower than when only one pipe in the same box are in use. In this case what the organist or the organ itself will do to keep the sound volume at the same level the same as it was when only few musical notes were played in that specific air box? Thanks
I think those blowers are powerful enough to keep them filled. This wasn't mentioned in the video, but each set of pipes has a reservoir that can retract and inflate. Think of them like balloons.
Reagan, about the reservoir, that make sense but specially for low notes like those basses are, I imagine that the demand of air is big. Yes, if the musical note is played very quick is different than few notes played at the same time for long period of time. I still curios about that.
Nyck461, organ bellows are regulated. They have large weights on them to keep the air pressure steady. The size of the bellows (regulators) and weights are calculated based off of division size, wind flow, and air pressure (measured in inches or millibars of air pressure). This allows a full registration to be played and sustained indefinitely with minimal waiver. If you have a full division pulled, and then play a large chord, you will see the bellows drop. As the chord continues, the bellows will refill with air. There will always be some small variances of wind pressure when this happens, and that is what makes the sound of the organ unique. Some, like the modern schwimmer reservoirs, are almost too stable and sometimes sound "sterile" to me. As for the large pedal pipes, they use larger reservoirs. Many times, there will be one pedal reed on large organs that is voiced to a higher wind pressure (such as a bombarde). Where the rest of the pedal division may be on 3-7" of wind pressure, the big reed could be in the 12-15" range. Since the pressure is different, it will be on its own reservoir as well as its own wind chest. Hope this helps!
Can anyone deny the wonderful heritage we all have inherited in the life of George Donald Harrison ? Learn the instrument. It is the least musical, yet, learning to be a good service player will be the greatest joy of your public life.
Interesting!... Greetings from an ex Londoner who started singing in choirs over here with a beautiful Mascioni pipe organ (even Shubert's Ave Maria as solo singer many years ago). The feeling produced by a well placed and well played pipe organ is unique. ciao da Caput Mundis
What an interesting presentation. I never knew an organ was that complicated. Now when I listen to it, I'll have an even better appreciation of the music I'm hearing. Thank you.
You should check out Cory Henry who plays beyond awesome and many times IN CHURCH with a Hammond B-3- I think you might change your mind. The leslie speaker that accompanies the B-3 can make for some amazing effects. The B-3 is almost standard fare with major rock bands. I think that dozens and dozens of professional musicians would seriously have difficulty understanding why you think they are "horrible".
My uncle, may he rest in peace, had studied many years ago with Dr. Alexander Schreiner. He told me about thhis organ before the rebuild, and how beautiful the instrument is.
Re-issues of some of the Aeolian-Skinner King of Instruments series in DVD are still available. Specifically, the first vinyl disc with G.Donald Harrison going through the various classes of stops and their tonality (Principals, Flutes, Reeds, Hybrids, & mixtures). I am privileged to play their opus 1290 and she still sounds wonderful. The 4' harmonic flute (on the Great division) was originally from a Lyon & Healy! G. Donald Harrison was proud of his ability to reuse and rescale existent pipes
I have to ask a question, mainly on the swell shoes: I've heard that some pipe divisions are unenclosed, then you have enclosed divisions that are controlled by swell shutters. Thus, this particular console, being the AeS op.1075, has five swell shoes. Thus if one shoe is for each of the five divisions and some divisions are not enclosed, how is the volume controlled with these unenclosed divisions .. maybe by controlling wind pressure, or similar? Thx for the help.
Well you can change the volume by choosing quieter stops. A stopped diapason will be quieter than a trumpet, and you can pull out multiple stops at once for more volume. The "great" division, usually second from bottom, or bottom in a 2 manual organ is almost always unenclosed, so if you want continuous control over volume, you would use another division. I'm surprised that there are 5 swell pedals. For a 5 manual organ, I would usually expect to see 3 or 4, with Pedal and Great unenclosed, and probably solo as well.
Jonathan Bryce Hi, just to add to your comment, 4 of 5 pedals are typically swell pedals, meaning only the Great division is unenclosed. The fifth pedal is usually a "crescendo" pedal that will gradually release more stops on the entire organ as it is pushed in. Typically all the divisions will then be coupled to the Great and as the crescendo pedal is pushed in more and more pipes from the great and other divisions will sound. You can also play on another division and push the crescendo pedal in which will gradually make all of that division's pipes sound. Typcially the other divisions are uncoupled from each other when doing this.
*Thanks for a primer on the organ essentials.* For me, the ultimate might-have-been scenario would be M. P. Møller® by Allen® MVV 12001, a five-manual F-style console with 60 audio channels for the _Creſcendovaerk_ simultaneously controlling one three-manual and pedal (_Hovedvaerk, Bryſtvaerk, Rygpoſitiv, Pedål_), and another one-manual and pedal (_Fjernvaerk, Pedål_), tracker organs via high-voltage electropneumatics; I pictured both north and south keydesks fully functional with the keys dropping on servo (much as happens with couplers on full-mechanical actions). The _Creſcendovaerk_ speakers would have been distributed behind the north _Hovedvaerk-Pedål_ cases, projecting through the pipes. The mechano-pneumatics would have been fabricated at Hagerstown, MD; the electronics and control systems at Macungie, PA.
