Description of the organ of a musical instrument. Organ - musical instrument

How is the organ aslan wrote on May 12th, 2017

On June 17, 1981, the hand of a musician, the outstanding organist Harry Grodberg, touched the keys for the first time, who performed Bach's toccatas, preludes, fantasies and fugues for Tomsk residents.

Since then, dozens of well-known organists have given concerts in Tomsk, and German organ masters have never ceased to be surprised how in the city, where the temperature difference between winter and summer is 80 degrees, the instrument is still playing.

Child of the GDR

The organ of the Tomsk Philharmonic was born in 1981 in the East German city of Frankfurt an der Oder, at the W.Sauer Orgelbau organ building company.

At a normal working pace, the construction of an organ takes about a year, and this process includes several stages. First, the masters inspect the concert hall, determine its acoustic characteristics and draw up a project for the future instrument. Then the specialists return to their native factory, make individual elements of the organ and assemble a single instrument from them. In the assembly shop of the factory, it is tested for the first time and the shortcomings are corrected. If the organ sounds as it should, it is again taken apart in parts and sent to the customer.

In Tomsk, all the installation procedures took only six months - due to the fact that the process went without overlays, shortcomings and other inhibitory factors. In January 1981, Sauer specialists arrived in Tomsk for the first time, and in June of the same year the organ was already giving concerts.

Internal composition

By the standards of specialists, the Tomsk organ can be called medium in weight and size - a ten-ton instrument can hold about two thousand pipes of various lengths and shapes. Like five hundred years ago, they are made by hand. Wooden pipes, as a rule, are made in the form of a parallelepiped. The shapes of metal pipes can be more intricate: cylindrical, reverse conical, and even combined. Metal pipes are made from an alloy of tin and lead in different proportions, while pine is usually used for wooden pipes.

It is these characteristics - length, shape and material - that affect the timbre of the sound of an individual pipe.

Pipes inside the organ are in rows: from the highest to the lowest. Each row of pipes can play individually, or you can combine them. On the side of the keyboard on the vertical panels of the organ there are buttons, by pressing which the organist controls this process. All pipes of the Tomsk organ are sounding, and only one of them on the front side of the instrument was created for decorative purposes and does not make any sounds.

On the reverse side, the organ looks like a three-story Gothic castle. On the ground floor of this castle is the mechanical part of the instrument, which through the system of rods transmits the work of the organist's fingers to the pipes. On the second floor, pipes are installed that are connected with the keys of the lower keyboard, and on the third floor - pipes of the upper keyboard.

The Tomsk organ has a mechanical system for connecting keys and pipes, which means that pressing a key and the appearance of sound occurs almost instantly, without any delay.

Above the performing chair there are blinds, or in other words a channel, which hide the second floor of organ pipes from the viewer. With the help of a special pedal, the organist controls the position of the blinds and thereby influences the strength of the sound.

Caring hand of the master

The organ, like any other musical instrument, is very dependent on the climate, and the Siberian weather creates many problems in caring for it. Inside the tool, special air conditioners, sensors and humidifiers are installed that maintain a certain temperature and humidity. The colder and drier the air, the shorter the pipes of the organ become, and vice versa - with warm and humid air, the pipes lengthen. Therefore, a musical instrument requires constant monitoring.

Only two people take care of the Tomsk organ - organist Dmitry Ushakov and his assistant Ekaterina Mastenitsa.

The main means of dealing with dust inside the body is an ordinary Soviet vacuum cleaner. To search for it, a whole action was organized - they were looking for exactly one that would have a blowing system, because it is easier to blow dust from the organ, bypassing all the tubes, onto the stage and only then collect it with a vacuum cleaner.

“Dirt in the organ must be removed where it is and when it gets in the way,” says Dmitry Ushakov. “If we decide now to remove all the dust from the organ, we will have to completely re-tune it, and this whole procedure will take about a month, and we have concerts.

Most often, facade pipes are cleaned - they are in plain sight, so fingerprints of curious people often remain on them. Dmitry prepares a mixture for cleaning facade elements himself, from ammonia and tooth powder.

Sound reconstruction

Major cleaning and tuning of the organ is done once a year: usually in the summer, when there are relatively few concerts and it is not cold outside. But a little tweaking of the sound is required before each gig. The tuner has a special approach to each type of organ pipe. For some it is enough to close the cap, for others to twist the roller, and for the smallest tubes they use a special tool - a stimmhorn.

Setting up the body alone will not work. One person must press the keys, and the other must adjust the pipes while inside the instrument. In addition, the person pressing the keys controls the tuning process.

The Tomsk organ experienced its first major overhaul relatively long ago, 13 years ago, after the restoration of the organ hall and the removal of the organ from a special sarcophagus in which it had spent 7 years. Experts from the Sauer company were invited to Tomsk, and they inspected the instrument. Then, in addition to internal renovation, the organ changed the color of the facade and acquired decorative grilles. And in 2012, the organ finally got "owners" - full-time organists Dmitry Ushakov and Maria Blazhevich.

Organ(Latin organum from other Greek ὄργανον - “tool, tool”) - a keyboard-wind musical instrument, the largest type of musical instruments.

Device and sound

Its height and length are equal to the size of the wall from the foundation to the roof in a large building - a temple or a concert hall.
The device, principles of sound production and other characteristics of a particular organ directly depend on its type and type.
In acoustic organs (wind, steam, mouth, wind, hydraulic, mechanical, etc.), sound is generated due to the vibration of air in special organ pipes - metal, wooden, bamboo, reed, etc., which can be with reeds, or without tongues. At the same time, air can be forced into the pipes of the organ in various ways - in particular, with the help of special bellows.
For several centuries, for the performance of almost all church music, as well as musical works written in other genres, only wind organs were used. However, it is known about the ecclesiastical and secular use of the organistrum, not a wind instrument, but a stringed keyboard instrument with organ properties.
The electric organ was originally created to electronically simulate the sound of wind organs, but then electric organs began to be divided into several types according to their functional purpose:

• Church electric organs, the possibilities of which are maximally adapted for the performance of sacred music in cult temples.
• Electric organs for concert performance of popular music, including jazz and rock.
• Electric organs for amateur home music making.
• Programmable organs for professional studio work

Let us consider in more detail the structure of the wind organ. It consists of the following parts:

Remote controller
An organ console refers to the controls that include all the numerous keys, shifters and pedals.
gaming devices include manuals and pedals.
To timbre - register switches. In addition to them, the console of the organ consists of: dynamic switches - channels, a variety of foot switches and keys for switching on copulas, which transfer the registers of one manual to another.
Most organs are equipped with copulas for switching registers to the main manual. Also, with the help of special levers, the organist can switch between different combinations from the bank of register combinations.
In addition, a bench is installed in front of the console, on which the musician sits, and the organ switch is located next to it.

Manual
Keyboard, in other words. But the organ has keys for playing with your feet - pedals, so it’s more correct to say the manual after all.
Usually there are from two to four manuals in the organ, but sometimes there are specimens with one manual, and even such monsters that have as many as seven manuals. The name of the manual depends on the location of the pipes it controls. In addition, each manual is assigned its own set of registers.
The main manual usually contains the loudest registers. It is also called Hauptwerk. It can be located both closest to the performer and in the second row.
Oberwerk - a little quieter. Its pipes are located under the pipes of the main manual.
Rückpositiv is a completely unique keyboard. She controls those pipes that are located separately from all the others. So, for example, if the organist sits facing the instrument, then they will be located behind.
Hinterwerk - This manual controls the pipes that are located at the back of the organ.
Brustwerk. But the pipes of this manual are located either directly above the console itself, or on both sides.
solowerk. As the name suggests, the pipes of this manual are equipped with a large number of solo registers.
In addition, there may be other manuals, but those listed above are the most commonly used.
In the seventeenth century, the organs got a kind of volume control - a box through which pipes passed with shutters. The manual that controlled these pipes was called the Schwellwerk and was located at a higher level.
Pedals
Organs did not originally have pedalboards. It appeared around the sixteenth century. There is a version that it was invented by a Brabant organist named Louis van Walbeke.
Now there are a variety of pedal keyboards, depending on the design of the organ. There are both five and thirty-two pedals, there are organs without a pedal keyboard at all. They are called portable.
Usually the pedals control the bassiest pipes, for which a separate stave is written, under the double score, which is written for the manuals. Their range is two or even three octaves lower than the rest of the notes, so a large organ can have a range of nine and a half octaves.
Registers
The registers are a series of pipes of the same timbre, which are, in fact, a separate instrument. To switch the registers, handles or switches (for organs with electric control) are provided, which are located on the organ console either above the manual or nearby, on the sides.
The essence of register control is as follows: if all registers are turned off, then the organ will not sound when a key is pressed.
The name of the register corresponds to the name of its largest pipe, and each handle belongs to its own register.
There are both labial and reed registers. The first relate to the control of pipes without reeds, these are registers of open flutes, there are also registers of closed flutes, principals, registers of overtones, which, in fact, form the color of the sound (potions and aliquots). In them, each note has several weaker overtone overtones.
But reed registers, as can be seen from their very name, control pipes with reeds. They can be combined in sound with labial pipes.
The choice of register is provided in the musical staff, it is written above the place where this or that register should be applied. But the matter is complicated by the fact that at different times and even just in different countries, the registers of organs differed sharply from each other. Therefore, the registration of an organ part is rarely specified in detail. Usually only the manual, the size of the pipes and the presence or absence of reeds are accurately indicated. All other nuances of sound are given to the consideration of the performer.
Pipes
As you might expect, the sound of pipes is strictly dependent on their size. Moreover, the only pipes that sound exactly as it is written in the stave are eight-foot pipes. Smaller trumpets sound correspondingly higher, and larger ones lower than written in the stave.
The largest pipes, which are not found in all, but only in the largest organs in the world, are 64 feet in size. They sound three octaves lower than what is written in the musical staff. Therefore, when the organist uses the pedals while playing in this register, infrasound is already emitted.
To set up small labials (that is, those without a tongue), use a stimhorn. This is a rod, at one end of which there is a cone, and at the other - a cup, with the help of which the bell of the pipes of the organ is expanded or narrowed, thereby achieving a change in the pitch.
But to change the pitch of large pipes, they usually cut out additional pieces of metal that bend like reeds and thus change the tone of the organ.
In addition, some pipes may be purely decorative. In this case, they are called "blind". They do not sound, but have an exclusively aesthetic value.

Traktura wind organ
The piano also has a tractura. There, it is a mechanism for transferring the force of the impact of the fingers from the surface of the key directly to the string. In the organ, the tractura plays the same role and is the main mechanism for controlling the organ.
In addition to the fact that the organ has a tracture that controls the valves of the pipes (it is also called a playing tracture), it also has a register tracture, which allows you to turn entire registers on and off.
A potion is a group of registers that are currently in use. The game tracture does not use the pipes that are used with the help of the register tracture, so to speak, of course.
It is with the register tracture that the memory of the organ works, when entire groups of registers are switched on or off. In some ways, it resembles modern synthesizers. These can be both fixed combinations of registers, and free, that is, chosen by the musician in an arbitrary order.

The organ is a musical instrument with a history that is unique in its duration. Its age is about 28 centuries.
The historical predecessor of the organ is the Pan flute instrument that has come down to us (named after the Greek god who created it, as mentioned in the myth). The appearance of the Pan flute is dated to the 7th century BC, but the real age is probably much older.
This is the name of a musical instrument consisting of reed tubes of different lengths placed vertically next to each other. Lateral surfaces, they are adjacent to each other, and across are united by a belt of strong matter or a wooden plank. The performer blows air from above through the holes of the tubes, and they sound - each at its own height. A real master of the game can use two or even three pipes at once to extract a simultaneous sound and get a two-part interval or, with special skill, a three-part chord.

The Pan flute embodies the eternal human desire for invention, especially in art, and the desire to improve the expressive possibilities of music. Before this instrument appeared on the historical stage, the oldest musicians had at their disposal more primitive longitudinal flutes - the simplest pipes with finger holes. Their technical capabilities were not great. On a longitudinal flute, it is impossible to simultaneously extract two or more sounds.
The following fact also speaks in favor of a more perfect sounding of Pan's flute. The method of blowing air into it is non-contact, the air jet is supplied by the lips from a certain distance, which creates a special timbre effect of mystical sound. All predecessors of the organ were brass, i.e. used the controlled living force of breathing to create artistic images. Subsequently, these features - polyphony and ghostly fantastic "breathing" timbre - were inherited in the sound palette of the organ. They are the basis of the unique ability of organ sound - to introduce the listener into a trance.
From the advent of the Pan flute to the invention of the next predecessor of the organ, five centuries passed. During this time, connoisseurs of wind sound extraction have found a way to infinitely increase the limited time of human exhalation.
In the new instrument, air was supplied by means of leather bellows, similar to those used by a blacksmith to force air.
There was also an opportunity to automatically support two-voice and three-voice. One or two voices - the lower ones - without interruption pulled sounds, the pitch of which did not change. These sounds, called "bourdons" or "faubourdons", were extracted without the participation of the voice, directly from the bellows through the holes open in them, and were something of a background. Later they will receive the name "organ point".
The first voice, thanks to the already known method of closing holes on a separate “flute-like” insert in bellows, got the opportunity to play quite diverse and even virtuoso melodies. The performer blew air into the insert with his lips. Unlike bourdons, the melody was extracted by contact. Therefore, there was no touch of mysticism in it - it was taken over by bourdon echoes.
This instrument gained great popularity, especially in folk art, as well as among itinerant musicians, and became known as the bagpipe. Thanks to her invention, the future organ sound acquired an almost unlimited length. While the performer pumps air with bellows, the sound is not interrupted.
Thus, three of the four future sound properties of the “king of instruments” appeared: polyphony, mystical uniqueness of timbre and absolute length.
Starting from the 2nd century BC. constructions appear that are increasingly approaching the image of an organ. For air injection, the Greek inventor Ktesebius creates a hydraulic drive (water pump). This makes it possible to increase the power of the sound and to equip the nascent colossus instrument with rather long sounding pipes. To the ear, the hydraulic organ becomes loud and sharp. With such properties of sound, it is widely used in mass performances (race races, circus shows, mysteries) among the Greeks and Romans. With the advent of early Christianity, the idea of ​​blowing air with bellows returned again: the sound from this mechanism was more lively and “human”.
In fact, at this stage, the main features of the organ sound can be considered formed: a polyphonic texture, an imperiously attention-grabbing timbre, an unprecedented length and a special power suitable for attracting a large mass of people.
The next 7 centuries were decisive for the organ in the sense that it became interested in its capabilities, and then firmly "appropriated" them and developed the Christian church. The organ was destined to become the instrument of mass preaching, as it remains to this day. To this end, his transformations moved along two channels.
First. The physical dimensions and acoustic abilities of the instrument have reached incredible levels. In accordance with the growth and development of temple architecture, the aspect of architectural and musical progressed rapidly. The organ began to be built into the wall of the temple, and its thunderous sound subdued and shook the imagination of the parishioners.
The number of organ pipes now made of wood and metal reached several thousand. The timbres of the organ acquired the widest emotional range - from the likeness of the Voice of God to the quiet revelations of religious individuality.
The possibilities of sound, previously acquired on the historical path, were needed in church life. The polyphony of the organ allowed the increasingly complex music to reflect the multifaceted interweaving of spiritual practice. The length and intensity of the tone exalted the aspect of living breathing, which brought the very nature of organ sound closer to the experiences of the destiny of human life.

From this stage, the organ is a musical instrument of great persuasive power.
The second direction in the development of the instrument followed the path of strengthening its virtuoso capabilities.
To manage a thousandth arsenal of pipes, a fundamentally new mechanism was needed, enabling the performer to cope with this untold wealth. History itself suggested the right solution: keyboard instruments appeared. The idea of ​​keyboard coordination of the entire sound array was perfectly adapted to the device of the “king of music”. From now on, the organ is a keyboard-wind instrument.
The control of the giant was concentrated on a special console, which combined the colossal possibilities of clavier technique and the ingenious inventions of organ masters. In front of the organist were now placed in a stepped order - one above the other - from two to seven keyboards. At the bottom, near the floor under your feet, there was a large pedal keyboard for extracting low tones. It was played with the feet. Thus, the organist's technique required great skill. The performer's seat was a long bench placed on top of the pedal keyboard.
The combination of pipes was controlled by a register mechanism. Near the keyboards were special buttons or handles, each of which actuated tens, hundreds and even thousands of pipes at the same time. So that the organist would not be distracted by switching registers, he had an assistant - usually a student who was supposed to understand the basics of playing the organ.
The organ begins its victorious march in the world artistic culture. By the 17th century, he reached his peak and unprecedented heights in music. After the perpetuation of organ art in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, the greatness of this instrument remains unsurpassed to this day. Today the organ is a musical instrument of recent history.

The expressive resource of the organ allows you to create music for it with the widest scope of content: from reflections on God and the cosmos to subtle intimate reflections of the human soul.

Organ- a unique musical instrument with a long history. One can speak about the organ only in superlatives: the largest in size, the most powerful in terms of sound strength, with the widest range of sound and a huge richness of timbres. That is why it is called the "king of musical instruments".

The Pan flute, which first appeared in ancient Greece, is considered the progenitor of the modern organ. There is a legend that the god of wildlife, pastoralism and cattle breeding Pan invented a new musical instrument for himself by connecting several reed pipes of different sizes in order to extract wonderful music while having fun with cheerful nymphs in luxurious valleys and groves. To successfully play such an instrument, great physical effort and a good respiratory system were required. Therefore, to facilitate the work of musicians in the 2nd century BC, the Greek Ctesibius invented a water organ or hydraulics, which is considered the prototype of the modern organ.

Organ development

The organ was constantly improved and in the 11th century it began to be built throughout Europe. Organ building reached its greatest flourishing in the 17th-18th centuries in Germany, where musical works for the organ were created by such great composers as Johann Sebastian Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude, unsurpassed masters of organ music.

The organs differed not only in beauty and variety of sound, but also in architecture and decor - each of the musical instruments had an individuality, was created for specific tasks, and harmoniously fit into the internal environment of the room.
Only a room that has excellent acoustics is suitable for an organ. Unlike other musical instruments, the peculiarity of the sound of an organ does not depend on the body, but on the space in which it is located.

The sounds of the organ cannot leave anyone indifferent, they penetrate deep into the heart, evoke a wide variety of feelings, make you think about the frailty of life and direct your thoughts to God. Therefore, organs were everywhere in Catholic churches and cathedrals, the best composers wrote sacred music and played the organ with their own hands, for example, Johann Sebastian Bach.

In Russia, the organ belonged to secular instruments, since traditionally in Orthodox churches the sound of music during worship was prohibited.

Today's organ is a complex system. It is both a wind and keyboard musical instrument, having a pedal keyboard, several manual keyboards, hundreds of registers and from hundreds to more than thirty thousand pipes. Pipes are varied in length, diameter, type of structure and material of manufacture. They can be copper, lead, tin, or various alloys such as lead-tin. The complex structure allows the organ to have a huge range of sound in pitch and timbre and to have a wealth of sound effects. The organ can imitate the playing of other instruments, which is why it is often equated with a symphony orchestra. The largest organ in the United States is in the Boardwalk Concert Hall in Atlantic City. It has 7 hand keyboards, 33112 pipes and 455 registers.

The sound of the organ cannot be compared with any other musical instrument and even a symphony orchestra. Its powerful, solemn, unearthly sounds act on the soul of a person instantly, deeply and stunningly, it seems that the heart is about to burst from the divine beauty of music, the sky will open up and the secrets of life, incomprehensible until that moment, will open.

1. In Latin organism the stress falls on the first syllable (as in its Greek prototype).
2. The frequency range of wind organs, taking into account overtones, includes almost ten octaves - from 16 Hz to 14000 Hz, which has no analogues among any other musical instruments. The dynamic range of wind organs is about 85-90 dB, the maximum value of sound pressure levels reaches 110-115 dB-C.
3. Douglas E. Bush, Richard Kassel. The organ: An encyclopedia. New York/London: 2006. ISBN 978-0-415-94174-7
4. “The organ sound is motionless, mechanical and unchanging. Without yielding to any softening finish, he brings to the fore the reality of division, attaches decisive importance to the slightest temporal relationships. But if time is the only plastic material of organ performance, then the main requirement of organ technique is the chronometric accuracy of movements. (Braudo, I. A., On organ and clavier music - L., 1976, p. 89)
5. Nicholas Thistlethwaite, Geoffrey Webber. The Cambridge companion to the organ. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-521-57584-3
6. Praetogius M. "Syntagma musicum", vol. 2, Wolffenbuttel, 1919, p. 99.
7. Riemann G. Catechism of Music History. Part 1. M., 1896. S. 20.
8. The connection between the Pan flute and the idea of ​​the organ is most clearly seen in the anthological epigram of Emperor Flavius ​​Claudius Julian (331-363): “I see reeds of a new kind growing separately on one metal field. They make a sound not from our breath, but from the wind that comes out of the skin reservoir lying under their roots, while the light fingers of a strong mortal run through the harmonic holes ... ”(Quoted from the article“ On the origin of the organ. ”-“ Russian invalid", 1848, July 29, No. 165).
9. “He has 13 or 24 bamboo pipes fitted with metal (bronze) reeds. Each tube is 1/3 smaller than the next. This set is called piao-xiao. The tubes are inserted into a hollowed-out gourd (later wooden or metal) tank. Sound is produced by blowing air into the tank and drawing air into itself. (Modr A. Musical instruments. M., 1959, p. 148).
10. Brocker 2005, p. 190: “The term 'organum' denotes both the polyphonic musical practice and the organ, which in the Middle Ages had drone pipes. It could serve as a model when it came time to call it hurdy-gurdy, since its polyphonic type is probably not very different from hurdy-gurdy. "Organistrum" can then be understood as an instrument identical or similar to an organ. Goog Riemann interpreted the name this way when he saw it as a diminutive of "organum". He thought that, just as "poetaster" came from "poeta", "organistrum" came from "organum" and originally meant "small organ" (eng. The term "organum" denotes both a polyphonic musical practice as well as the organ, which in the Middle Ages had drone pipes. It could have served as a model when it came time to name the hurdy-gurdy, since its type of polyphony was probably not very different from that of the hurdy-gurdy. The "organistrum" then can be understood to be an instrument identical with or similar to the organ. Hug Riemann interpreted the name in this manner when he saw it as a diminutive of "organum". He thought that, similar to how "poetaster" came from "poeta", "organistrum" came from "organum" and meant originally "little organ")»
11. Each instrument has its own image, description of the form and appearance, and allegorical interpretation necessary for a kind of "sanctification" of biblical instruments so that they enter the Christian cult. The last mention of Jerome's Instruments is in M. Pretorius's treatise Sintagma musicum-II; this fragment was taken by him from S. Virdung's treatise Musica getutscht 1511. First of all, the description emphasizes the unusually loud sonority of the instrument, because of which it is likened to the organ of the Jews, which is heard from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives (a paraphrase from the Talmud “From Jericho is heard ...”) . Described as a cavity made of two skins with twelve bellows pumping air into it and twelve copper pipes emitting a "thundering howl" - a kind of bagpipe. Later depictions combined bagpipe and organ elements. Furs were very often not depicted, keys and pipes could be depicted very conditionally. Wirdung, among other things, also flips the image, since it was probably copied by him from another source and he had no idea what kind of tool it was.
12. Chris Riley. The Modern Organ Guide. Xulon Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1-59781-667-0
13. William Harrison Barnes. The Contemporary American Organ - Its Evolution, Design and Construction. 2007. ISBN 978-1-4067-6023-1
14. Apel 1969, p. 396: "described in a 10th-century treatise entitled (GS i, 303, where it is attributed to Oddo of Cluny) (eng. is described in 10th-century treatise-titled Quomodo Organistrum Constructur (GS i, 303 where it is attributed to Oddo of Cluny))»
15. Orpha Caroline Ochse. The History of the Organ in the United States. Indiana University Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0-253-20495-0
16. Virtual MIDI system "Hauptwerk"
17. Stonebreaker 2012: "Each key actuated switches connected to different drawbars, or drawbars"
18. ? An Introduction to Drawbars: “Sliders are the heart and soul of your Hammond organ sound. There are two sets of nine sliders, sometimes referred to as tone bars, for the top and bottom manuals, and two pedal sliders located between the top manual and the info center display. (English) The Drawbars are the heart and soul of the sound of your Hammond Organ. There are two sets of nine Drawbars, sometimes referred to as Tonebars, for the Upper and Lower Manuals and two Drawbars for the Pedals, located between the Upper Manual and the Information Center Display)»
19. HammondWiki 2011: "The Hammond organ was originally developed to compete with the pipe organs. Sliders were a unique innovation of the Hammond keyboard musical instruments (register buttons or labels were used to control the air flow in the pipes of the pipe organs)… The Hammond organ was originally developed to compete with the pipe organ. Much of the discussion that follows is easier to understand if you have a little knowledge of pipe organ terminology. Here's a link to A Crash Course in Concepts and Terminology Concerning Organs. Drawbars were a unique Hammond innovation to keyboard musical instruments. Prior to the hammond organ, pipe organs most commonly used stop buttons or tabs to control the flow of air into a specific rank of pipes. position controls; on or off. The organist blended the sound produced by the pipe ranks by opening or closing the stops. The Hammond organ blends the relatively pure sine wave tones generated by the ToneGenerator to make sounds that are harmonically imitative of the pipe organ (obviously Jazz, Blues and Rock organists aren't always interested in imitating a pipe organ). The Hammond organist blends these harmonics by setting the position of the drawbars which increase or decrease the volume of the harmonic in the mix. .
20. Orchestrations include a variety of self-playing mechanical organs, known in Germany under the names: Spieluhr, Mechanische Orgel, ein mechanisches Musikwerk, ein Orgelwerk in eine Uhr, eine Walze in eine kleine Orgel, Flötenuhr, Laufwerk, etc. Haydn, Mozart wrote especially for these instruments , Beethoven. (Musical Encyclopedia. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, Soviet Composer. Edited by Yu. V. Keldysh. 1973-1982.)
21. Spillane 1892, pp. 642-3: “The peculiarity of the American cabinet (salon) organ lies primarily in the reed structure system invented in this country, with the help of which the tone of the sound changed, which distinguished this organ from reed instruments of foreign production. Some other features in its interior and exterior, however, distinguish it from the reed instruments called harmoniums. The "free reed", as it was first used in American accordions and seraphs, was by no means an internal invention, as writers rashly claim. It was used by European pipe organ builders for drawbar effects, as well as in individual keyboards before 1800. The "free reed" is named to distinguish it from the "beating reed" of the clarinet and the "double reed" of the oboe and bassoon. The individuality of the American parlor organ rests largely upon the system of reed structure invented in this country, upon which a tone has been evolved which is easily distinguished from that produced by the reed instruments made abroad. Several other features in its interior construction and exterior finish, however, distinguish it from the reed instruments called harmoniums. The "free reed," as it was first applied in American accordeons and seraphines, was not by any means a domestic invention, as writers recklessly assert. It was used by European pipe-organ builders for stop effects, and also in separate key-board instrument, prior to 1800. The "free reed" is so named to distinguish it from the "beating reed" of the clarionet and the "double reed" of the oboe and basson)»

"King of Tools" The largest, heaviest, with the widest range of sounds produced, the organ has always been something of a legend in the flesh.

Of course, the organ has nothing to do with the piano directly. It can only be attributed to the most of this stringed keyboard instrument. It will turn out to be an uncle organ with three manuals that are somewhat similar to the piano keyboard, a bunch of pedals that do not moderate the sound of the instrument, but themselves carry a semantic load in the form of a particularly low sound register, and huge heavy lead pipes that replace the strings in the organ.

That's just the sound of the organ tried to imitate the creators of the "ancient" synthesizers. Although ... you could customize a lot of sounds, which formed the basis for the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba good synthesizer sound. Where as later it became possible to synthesize the sound of the piano.

It is difficult to imagine a louder musical instrument than the organ. Except the bell. Like bell ringers, classical organists are characterized by hearing impairments. Therefore, organists develop a very special relationship with this instrument. In the end, they just won't be able to play anything else.

One way or another, the position of an organist was considered a church one - the organs were mainly installed in churches and used during worship. This picture emerged in a rather symbolic year, 666, when the Pope decided to introduce the organ as the main instrument of sound accompaniment of divine services.

But who invented the organ and when it was - this is another question, to which, unfortunately, there is no unambiguous answer.

According to some assumptions, the organ was invented by a Greek named Ctesibius, who lived in the third century BC. According to other assumptions, they appeared somewhat later.

One way or another, more or less large instruments appeared only in the fourth century AD, and already in the seventh-eighth centuries they became quite popular in Byzantium. So it happened in the end that the art of making organs began to develop precisely in countries of significant religious influence. In this case, in Italy. From there they were discharged to France, and a little later they became interested in organs in Germany.

Difference between modern and medieval organs

Medieval organs differed significantly from modern instruments. So, for example, they had much fewer pipes and rather wide keys, which were not pressed with fingers, but were beaten with a fist. The distance between them was also quite significant and reached one and a half centimeters.

This is already later, in the fifteenth century, the number of pipes increased and the keys decreased. The apotheosis of organ building was achieved in 1908 when an organ was built for the World's Fair, now located in Philadelphia's Macy's Lord & Taylor shopping center. It has six manuals and weighs as much as 287 tons! Previously, it weighed somewhat less, but over time it was completed in order to increase power.

And the loudest organ is in the Hall of Concord in Atlantic City. He has neither more nor less, but as many as seven manuals and the widest timbre set in the world. Now it is not used, as eardrums can burst from its sound.

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