The Organ in France 3
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PREFACE PR OBABLY in no other country have the successive an e in met o of or an on tru tion ur in h l ch g s h ds g c s c , d g t e ast uarter of a entur more nearl ifi q c y , y j ust ed the designa “ ” tion re olution t an in th e nite v h U d States . At the e innin of t i erio ma in b g g h s p d , k g due allowance for the individual methods or characteristics of variou s uil er ra ti all all or an ollo b d s , p c c y g s f wed a general standar d with regar d to chara cter of specification and the purp oses i r for wh ch they were built . O gans designed for concert use ere oun in ome of the lar e t au itori nd o w f d s g s d a, a cca sionally in smaller halls ; the size o f church organs was governed by the prop orti ons o f the edifices in which they re l e nd to a ertain e tent eman of litur we p ac d , a c x by d ds gy i A ri t e i en e oa te or form of worsh p . few p va e r s d c s b s d r r l im ortan e et if erin but instruments of mo e o ess p c , y d f g slightly from th e standard established for the typ es i previ ou sly ment oned . With th e su ccessful introduction of the electro-pneu ti tem it ma airl be ai the our e of or an ma c sys , y f y s d , c s g l h e new tem building entered divergent channe s . T sys c ontaine d nothing in itself to alter th e standar d organ ion of th e p eriod in any respe ct save ease of manipulat . h u e i e in ention And yet it made p ossible t e s cc ss v v s , tion to an on i era le e ree h as ro whose adop , y c s d b d g , p duced an instrument of widely different resources from i th e e elo ment of new ossibil its prototype . W th d v p p ion of tru tural i o ition ities of contrast and express , s c d sp s V i PREFACE l ntrol aro e new fields er a hi th a nd mech anica co , s , p h ps e rto und reamed o f ; in s ome cases re qui ri ng for their s uccessful exploitation a te chni que and repert oire quite o reali e the e tent of t e e e elo ment individ ual . T z x h s d v p s we have but to c omp are th e use of the organ in chur ch and in o ccas io nal c oncert thirty years ago with th e l m l o ment afi orded it to -da variety o f additio na e p y y, th e char a cter of th e instrument necessarily varying ao c ording to the individual demands o f such employment ni i al all or e en in th e o en air th e me ium in mu c p h s , v p , d if il n er in th e o e or o ol o f frequent no t d a y c o c ts ; h us sch , “ — ” most o ften fitted wi th so- called s elf pla ying appii ances which facilitate a cquaintance with th e master ie e f r e r l re ertoire in the t eatre ere p c s o o ch st a p ; h , wh instruments o f a sp e cial typ e either have been added to the orchestra or have supplanted the latter entirely ; “ ” and finall e en as a eatur e attra tion of au e ille y, v f d c v d v n i h ou ses a d c nematographs . It is not my purp ose t o discu ss the many steps of invention and d evelopment whi ch have given us the or an or rat er or an of to -da for it mu t b e o i ou g , h g s , y ; s bv s th at instruments most suitable for th e work in any one of the fields above mentioned may differ in detail from th ose d esigned for others far more materially th an did th e various instruments of thirty years ago from one a nother . Suffi c e it t o say that in s cientific a chievement in the in enti on and li ti n ni l r r v app ca o of me cha ca es ou ces , arti ularl ele tri — in the re lt o f ro o n tu p c y c c , su s p f u d s dy and technical exp eriment in the domain of physical laws and eno mena in th e r i n f e tie f ph , p odu ct o o new b au s o — t o nal u alit and in ela ti it o f e re io n th e a ctiv q y , s c y xp ss , ities o f th e p ast qu arter o f a c entury in this country have orne ri r i M b ch f u t . e ch ani cal pre cision and ease of op era tio n h ave b een brou ght to a higher d egree of e xcellence than ever before while mechanical a ccessories are now PREFACE V ii provided in a pro fusion and variety which facilitate the attainment of ef e t it erto im f c s h h p ossi ble . Th e relatio n of these impro vements to the previ ously e ta li e on e tion of the or an as an in trument s b sh d c c p g s , and of its le itimate un tion it is not m r g f c , y p ovince to M n li discuss . a y b e eve that the new methods have emancip ated the organ from the fetters of mechanical limitatio n ile ot er m i s , wh h s a ntain that a t least in ex treme cases an essentially new instrument has been e ol e o e in a fi eld o f u e l e v v d , p ss ss g s fu n ss and d emanding an in i i ualit of treatment e uliarl i d v d y p c y ts own . One thing is certain : that under discriminating and skilful dire ction the new methods adopted in recent years have given our organ-builders o f to -day th e o pp ortunity to produ ce work possessing at once su ch artistic excellence and interesting p ossibilities as c ould seldom have b een ou a e to t eir re e e or or in un er e i tin v chs f d h p d c ss s , w k g d x s g limitations . Only th e future can d etermine the exact value of these new met o . en u i i ou l em lo e it i in h ds Wh j d c s y p y d , s contestable that they will greatly increase the technical p ossibilities o f th e organ . But to prove th eir artistic as ell as t eir ommer ial alue t e m w h c c v , h y ust awaken a c orresp onding develo pment o f musical fa culties on th e art of e e utant and timulate intere t in th r n p x c s , s s e o ga n i i n n m E i ll amo g mus c a s a d c o po sers . spe c a y must the latter be inspired to augment a repertoire whi ch is none ri in m o er r o f en ine m i l im r n to o ch d n wo ks g u us ca p o ta c e . It is u seless t o exp e ct su ch interest to be stimulated by endless and generally fruitless discussions among organists and others of the j ustification of p erformi ng orchestral arrangements upon the organ while one l i f r eal intere t anot er discoun h olds that little e se s o s , h en tenances th e u se o f transcriptions unr eservedly . R ec t works treating of the progress of th e p ast half- century viii PREFACE a rc wo nt c o ntinually to lay stress up on the enl argement r of th e o r an t ro u tone and o f the imi ta tive p owe s g , h gh i on e tio n of th e e e ntual un ti on of th e t o uch .