Why the Pipe Organ
Why the Pipe Organ?
By Michael Barone
November 17, 1997
Such a simple term – pipe organ – yet it encompasses nearly 700 years of active repertoire and a fascinating history. Contrary to common belief, the first organ was not used in a church. It debuted in an outdoor Roman coliseum, and since then has been found in theatres, concert halls, arenas, opera houses, homes, hotels, skating rinks, ballrooms, pizza restaurants, and even department stores, as well as in temples, chapels, churches, and cathedrals.
Despite the implications of its ecclesiastical affiliations, the organ is just an instrument, a tool, a useful device . . . and a marvelously multifaceted means for making music of every kind. The organ was and remains the first and best analog synthesizer. An organ’s internal mechanism is complex, and prior to the industrial age the pipe organ was second to none as representative of human ingenuity and aspiration.
Each instrument is unique, and the space in which an organ plays is as important to our experience of it as are any of that instrument’s ranks of pipes. But even without making a sound, many organs are visually impressive. The organ’s physical structure is its own special kind of architecture, and the best organs are as satisfying to see as to hear.
From country to country and generation to generation, organs and organ music are different – Italian instruments are unlike French ones, 19th-century organs different from 18th-century designs, and the music for all of them is tailored to the individual circumstance and taste.
Don’t forget the organ’s ongoing and exciting tradition of virtuoso playing. Organists are magicians who must align melodies and harmonies, manipulate stops and combination pistons and swell-shoes, provide the nuance, shading, color, and forward motion, plus make sure the bellows-pumper is paying attention. And, hey, what other instrumentalist plays with both hands
AND feet?
Why the organ? Because it can please and persuade in so many ways. You will never in your life experience it all. Et, to enjoy the organ and its music is to enjoy the fullness of life.
How a Pipe Organ Works
Simply Stated…
…the pipe organ is a big box of whistles. Each pipe sits on top of a hollow wind chest that is filled with compressed air provided by a bellows or blower. Each ‘stop’ at the organ console represents a set of pipes (a rank) of a particular tone color, with a different pipe for every note on the keyboard. Pulling the stop activates a slider under that specific set of pipes on the windchest, making them available as a sound-source. The wind chest also contains a series of valves (pallets) connected to the keyboard by a mechanical linkage. These pallets govern the flow of air to each pipe, and even though a stop may be on, no pipes will sound until a key is depressed and its respective pallet opens. This allows the compressed air to pass up through the pipe for that note, creating sound. (see image)
Organist on the bench & an assistant pumping the bellows – Dom Bedos
Links and resources
Interior view of a pipe organ – Dom Bedos
Organs are unique
One trombone is likely to look like any another trombone and most violins are virtually identical, but each pipe organ is unique. (Just look at the variations in our gallery.) Each pipe organ is custom made for the buyer, and in every case a number of variables need to be addressed. Considerations for each new instrument might involve the number and types of sounds included, the size of the room where the organ will be placed, the physical look of the instrument and also, the budget.
Learn about the music
