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

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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?

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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. MIXTURE 3 RANKS . But that is fairly unusual. What colour is the material?

August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 4 The knob : What type of material? (Usually wood, usually matches the collar and may or may not match the shank.)

What type of material is the disc? Ivory? Plastic? Wood?

If wood, what type of wood?

What type of lettering is on the disc? Is the lettering painted?

or engraved? or both?

Is the lettering coloured? If Y, what colour?

THE STOP LIST THE STOP LIST NPOR will almost always list the stops. List the names of the stops.

You may be interested in the following. There may be one manual only, or

There are many different stop arrangements. one manual and pedalboard, or In all instruments they are in groups sometimes there may be more manuals and headed by the name of the division (Great, Swell, one pedalboard.

Choir etc) and (rarely) may be serially numbered. Start with those in the GREAT

There may be a figure under some of the stop organ division. The convention is names indicating the pitch of the stop in feet (16, 8, to start at the bottom left working 4 etc, based on the speaking length of the bottom upwards. [GREAT is nearly always CC pipe); an 8ft stop sounds the same pitch as on on R.] the piano, a 4ft stop sounds one octave higher than Then list the stops in the SWELL the piano, a 2ft stop sounds two octaves higher etc. organ. A 16ft stop sounds one octave lower than a piano. Then list the stops in the CHOIR BE VERY ACCURATE WITH THE STOP NAMES. organ in the same way. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF Then list the stops in the PEDAL organ and, finally, the SPELLING SOME OF THE MORE OBSCURE COUPLERS. NAMES. DON'T PRODUCE ANY HOWLERS – If there is only one horizontal row of stops, list them L to R or bottom to top as appropriate. Tenor C NOT Tennessee [Tenor C is a stop

with limited range] If the divisions are not labelled ask the organist which Bourdon NOT Bourbon is which. Diapason NOT Diapson Cornopean NOT Cornucopean

CHECK, CHECK AND CHECK AGAIN. THE SPELLING SOMETIMES HELPS TO DATE AN ORGAN OR IDENTIFY THE MAKER.

PISTONS (If any) PISTONS (If any) Pistons are usually small buttons placed below the Under each manual, in the key slip, how many pistons keyboard (in the keyslip) whose stops they operate. are there? Pistons may be numbered or blank.

List the pistons, with any lettering/numbering on Are they numbered? them. Or lettered?

OTHER FEATURES OTHER FEATURES As you sit at the console, you will perhaps notice other ordinary electric switches, other switches, Are there other features ? mirrors of various sorts, warning lights for the arrival If Y, list them (see notes on left) without going into too of the bride, closed circuit TV etc! much detail. August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 5 OTHER FEATURES (continued) OTHER FEATURES (continued) Old organs sometimes have a pendant tell-tale or Does this organ have a tell-tale? mouse (of lead, brass, ivory, etc) to indicate the level of wind in the reservoir with a string running If Y, what material? over a pulley. Does it still work? Find out if it still works by switching on the wind and You may not be able to tell if it works or not but you seeing if it comes down. can try using the suggestion on the left.

NAME PLATES NAME PLATES As with any other item being recorded, follow the rules for recording inscriptions. As well as describing the plate, always photograph it. The maker's name plate is very important. The de scription: the type of lettering, incised, painted, coloured, the material, will go in paragraph 1 within the section for the case or the console. Don’t forget the measurements.

ENSURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT NAME: Snetzler NOT Snezler John Oldrid Scott NOT John Oldroyd Scott Walker Joy NOT Walter Joy Gray & Davison NOT Gray & Davidson

PEDALS PEDALS ILLUSTRATIONS OF PEDAL BOARDS. Is there a pedalboard (a wooden keyboard for the A) Explaining a concave pedalboard. feet)? Look at the picture below which is an "elevation" of a concave pedalboard. (A flat pedalboard would be If N, skip to the ACTION box on the next page. flat!) = sharps = naturals How many notes does it have (including ‘sharps’)?

Height from If possible give its compass using the illustration below on the left to help you. FLOORLINE Using the illustrations on the left to help you B) Explaining a radiating pedalboard. The diagram is looking down onto a radiating Is the pedalboard pedalboard. This will also help you to work out the concave compass of the pedalboard. or flat (apart from The compass of this pedalboard is CC to f1, i.e. 30 the sharps)? notes. (Note that c1 is middle C.) CC EE C E A B c1 f1 Is the pedalboard radiating (fan-shaped)? or straight?

August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 6 PEDAL ACCESSORIES PEDAL ACCESSORIES The most usual are a) a ratchet lever on the right-hand side or a Apart from pedal keys, are there any foot operated balanced pedal in the centre, operating Venetian levers, pedals , knobs (pistons) etc? shutters on the swell box. b) Coupler pedal (to draw or cancel e.g. ‘Great to Pedal’, so called “reversible”) and If Y give what details you can or draw a diagram or c) Composition pedals or toe pistons, some of which take some photographs. may duplicate the action of the manual pistons.

ILLUSTRATION SHOWING SOME PEDAL ACCESSORIES AND KEYBOARDS, KEYSLIPS AND KEYCHEEKS.

KEYBOARDS

KEYSLIPS each with 4 pistons

KEYCHEEKS, MOULDED

PEDAL ACCESSORIES

including 2 spatulate pedals and a balanced swell pedal

ACTION If you have a print-out from NPOR the action will be listed but still check with the organ tuner. In the NPOR entries the following initials stand for the various types of action: TR = Mechanical (tracker) TP = Pneumatic (actually tubular pneumatic but “tubular” is not necessary for us) EP = Electro-pneumatic EL = Electric (which really is different from EP). Sometimes there is a mixture of actions, e.g. mechanical to manuals and pneumatic to the pedals.

PIPES An average organ contains pipes of several types Ensure that you mention whether the pipes are and materials, the tone of individual stops being painted, gilded, made of pipe metal or zinc etc. determined by many details of the construction and Materials for pipes: the type of material used, whilst their pitch is Pipe-metal (an alloy of zinc and tin). They look rather determined, broadly speaking, by their length. blotchy and so are not often shown in the front pipe display. Zinc (used for larger pipes, for strength. Zinc is a lighter grey than lead and pipes made from it make a harder noise than pipe metal or lead). Lead: Dark grey and rather soft. Wood: Square or rectangular section wooden pipes are used for many stops of flute tone (e.g. pedal Bourdon, Stopped Diapason etc).

August 2015 “How to record a Pipe Organ” 7 ORGAN BENCH ORGAN BENCH Organ benches are fairly standard. Sometimes they Describe and measure. are made to match the case. Some are adjustable.

You have now come to the end of paragraph 1. For paragraphs 2-10, record as you would for any item.

2 Materials: Materials used in the construction of the case, console and pipes should be listed here. Remember that there will be the usual wood, metal, brass etc but there may be ivory, plastic, felt etc and pipe-metal: see above. If you know the material of the pipes, say so. Don’t be afraid to use “etc” – all sorts of materials are used, some quite esoteric.

3 Date: The original date of manufacture of the present organ goes here. Other dates are inserted at paragraph 7 .

4 Measurements: Overall measurement of the case or each case, the console if detached, and the organ bench. Various measurements may have been added to your description of the case and console. Only put the overall measurements here. If it's too high to measure, say so. Estimate the height if you can. If you like, put a photo or diagram here with appropriate measurements marked.

5 Artist: Often with small organs the artist who made the case is also the manufacturer of the organ. With simple cases such as pipe-racks, no carving etc, there is no artist. With grand or rather good organs, very often the name of the artist is known, often an architect.

6 Manufacturer: The organ is originally made by one man or one firm but over many years, many people have worked on it. This may be given on the NPOR website. Put the ORIGINAL maker of the present instrument here and add everyone else in paragraph 7.

7 History: This can be a most important paragraph for the record. Here is added your research and the history of the organ, as much as you can find out, from your usual documents, organ builders' records, parish records etc. You can give a potted history with the names and dates of the different organ builders who have worked on the instrument and what they have done. But it can be a mine-field and if you have a good rapport with a member of BIOS or an organ builder it will help. Be as accurate as you can and don't guess!

8 Donor and date of gift . Fairly obvious but also add here if a restoration has taken place as a gift.

9 Memorial inscriptions The de scription including the position, lettering etc has been made in paragraph 1. Here you just put the text of any memorial or dedicatory inscriptions with / showing end of line. NB Text of Biblical quotations goes in paragraph 1).

10 All your references

ESSENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHS are of the CASE; CONSOLE or CONSOLE OPENING; STOPS with readable lettering; PEDAL AREA similar to the diagram on page 7 and MAKER’S NAME PLATES.

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