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HOW to RECORD a PIPE ORGAN.Pdf HOW TO RECORD A PIPE ORGAN RECORDING PIPE ORGANS - INTRODUCTION Organs are rather like cars - there are the Rolls Royce and the Austin 7 types and all sorts in between. The average church recorder may not be able to describe the details of his/her car although (s)he may be a good driver. Likewise an organist may not be able to describe the organ although (s)he plays well. These notes are to help ordinary church recorders to "record" an organ so that a) the record is suitable as part of a NADFAS record with the dedicated number of 800. b) the record is accurate and can be understood by members of the British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) and experts who keep the database NPOR (National Pipe Organ Register) up-to-date. A copy of your finished record should be sent to NPOR Database Manager, Royal College of Organists, PO Box 56357, London SE16 7XL W: www.npor.org.uk E: [email protected] BEFORE STARTING TO RECORD A PIPE ORGAN a) Go on-line to www.npor.org.uk Print out anything which NPOR has about the organ. Take it with you on the day you record. b) Arrange with the churchwardens/organist to have access to the organ. Find out how to unlock it and how to turn the wind on and off. The organist may want to be with you. c) Find out about the ACTION. Telephone the organ tuner (via the churchwarden if the tuner’s notebook with his number is not near the organ). d) Use the NADFAS 1-10 format as usual. However, paragraph 1 will be subdivided and may continue for some pages . e) As always with any object being recorded please be accurate. This is especially important with names on nameplates (the way they are written can help with dating an organ). ALWAYS PHOTOGRAPH THE NAME PLATE. NB Brian Gill’s book: “An Introduction to the Recording of Church Organs” (available from NADFAS HOUSE) has excellent photographs and some useful notes at the back. RECORDING ON THE DAY – using the NADFAS 1-10 format NB The position of the organ refers to the organ pipes/case, not the console. The console (the driving seat!) can be attached or detached. See below. The se notes in the blue column are detailed but The questions in the yellow column are for you to may help and be of interest. answer. From these you can write your record. 1 Description Which direction does the main case face? CASE: Look at the case. If the case has an North, East, South, West? attached (integral) console, start with that side.. After describing and photographing the main case, SEE ILLUSTRATION OF A CASE FRONT ON NEXT describe and photograph each side and the back. PAGE. DON’T FORGET THE SIDES AND BACK. The blower (which produces the wind) is either If you can see the blower box (or enclosure) give its inside the organ or in an external box, often at the position and describe any labels. side or the back of the organ. GIFT IN MEMORY PLATES GIFT IN MEMORY PLATES Gift in Memory inscriptions: The de scription for Check carefully whether it is a gift in memory or a these will be recorded within the section for the memorial. If a memorial put in the Memorial section of case or the console depending on its position but the record. If the plate is elaborate, photograph it as the actual in scription will be put in paragraph 9. well as describing it. EXAMPLES OF SOME PATTERNS OF PIPE MOUTHS A SHAPE V SHAPE STRAIGHT STEPPED M SHAPE W SHAPE August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 1 ILLUSTRATION OF A CASE DECORATIVE PIPE DISPLAYS CORNICE CORNICE SHADES SHADES TOWER TOWER FLAT FLAT PIPE MOUTHS PIPE MOUTHS CENTRAL TOWER WITH BRACKET IMPOST J CONSOLE J A MUSIC DESK A For console, KEYBOARD M M keyboard, B KEYBOARD B pedalboard, pedal accessories PEDAL and jambs with ACCESSORIES stop knobs, see PEDALBOARD later illustrations. ILLUSTRATION OF A CONSOLE OPENING ORGAN PIPES ABOVE RED SIGNAL LIGHT MAKER’S PLATE MUSIC DESK WITH ROCKER SWITCH FOR 4 MUSIC RETAINING POWER TO CONSOLE JAMBS WITH STOP CLIPS LIGHTS AND BLOWER KNOBS JAMBS WITH STOP KNOBS 2 KEYBOARDS ABOVE KEYSLIPS PEDALBOARD BELOW August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 2 ILLUSTRATION OF KEYBOARD WITH NOTE NAMES CC DD EE etc C D E etc c1 d1 e1 etc c2 d2 e2 etc c3 d3 e3 g3 or Bass C or Tenor C or Middle C or Treble C CONSOLE: CONSOLE: This is the "driving position", with the equivalent of Is the console integral with the organ? a "dashboard" with lots of knobs. If N go to next box. Sit on the organ bench to answer the following If Y questions. Have your camera or your photographer What overall size is it? handy. Does it have doors? Describe the console opening. See illustration on If Y describe them or photograph them. previous page. If N, Describe the doors if it has them.They may be does it have a roll-top lid? glazed. There may be a key hole with a key or a locking fall? escutcheon. or something else? If it doesn’t have doors it may have a roll top or Is there a key escutcheon? a music desk which folds down (known as a are there handle(s)? “locking fall”) or a Perspex cover, or nothing at all. If the console is detached, give the position (it may Is the console detached? be moveable, if so, say so.) If Y What overall size is it? Where is it? For both attached and detached consoles: Look at the music desk. Above the keyboards there will be a music desk What material is the desk? (describe briefly) with a rest for the music (about Are there any music retaining clips? 4.5cm deep) with 4 brass (sometimes wooden) How many? retaining clips. Check. What material? Keyboards for the hands are called manual How many keyboards for the keyboards (or manuals). hands are there? See illustration on page 4 for the general terms How many notes/keys do they have (the total per used for the Console/ keyboards and stops. manual, including both naturals and sharps?) See illustration at top of this page on how to work What is the lowest key on each manual? out the “compass” (range of notes/keys) of the (almost always bass C, manuals. called CC) What is the highest key on each manual? What colours are the naturals (the longer notes) ? What colours are the sharps (the shorter notes) ? What material are the naturals? What material are the sharps? August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 3 Sharps and naturals. JAMBS The naturals are the bigger keys and are usually = PISTONS each side white. of the console The sharps are small keys and usually black. with stop Use the chart at the top of the previous page to KEY SLIPS KEYBOARDS knobs work out which note/key is the lowest and which is (MANUALS) the highest. There are lots of different ways of showing notes. This is only one way of showing SHARPS them, or you can count them, sharps and naturals. This example shows one manual with notes CC to NATURALS g3, i.e. 56 notes, known as the “compass”. Key Colours SHARPS Naturals will be white, black, other. NATURALS Sharps will be white, black, other. Key Materials KEY CHEEK White keys can be ivory, bone, or plastic, Black keys can be ebony etc Other is usually wood, pale and/or dark. ILLUSTRATION OF ROSEWOOD COLLAR TYPICAL RED FELT LINING STOP KNOB IVORY DISC WITH NUMERALS AND SANS SERIF CAPS COLOURED BLACK OAK SHANK ROSEWOOD STOPS AND COUPLERS STOPS AND COUPLERS You may be interested in the following. Answer as many of these questions as possible. You may want to take photographs. Where are the knobs/tabs? Apart from the keyboards themselves, the 'controls' of the organ operated by the hands are of three If they are on the jambs say if the jambs are flat or angled or (more rarely) sloping or even terraced. main kinds: Stops: These, when pushed in, stop individual rows Are they tabs of pipes from sounding. To be playable, the stop (short for tablets)? needs to be pulled out or switched on. (These can be hinged at the back or pivoted in the middle i.e. rocking tablets). Couplers on organs with one or more keyboards and/or pedalboard, which 'couple' two or more U U U U U U U U U keyboards or keyboards and pedals. What material are the tabs? Combination pistons , which draw or cancel groups of stops (and/or couplers) in combination. Or The Stops and Couplers are nearly always hand- Are they pull-out knobs (drawstops)? If drawstops, what are the materials? operated by knobs or tabs beside the music desk. Mixtures are usually described in stop lists with a Are the shanks turned (round) roman numeral denoting the number of ranks - most or square ? stops have one rank of pipes but mixtures, known What material is the shank? as compound stops, have two or more (many more What sort of collar does the drawstop have? (wood, in classical organs on the continent) so in a stop list type of wood if known, plastic, felt, etc.) one will see - Mixture III; or Mixture V - as the case Is there a lining to the collar? may be. But occasionally arabic numerals are used If Y, what material is it? e.g.
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