Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Strange organ console.

This is topic Strange organ console. in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-13-2011, 02:24 PM:

I was listening to some Bach on You Tube during lunch at work a few days ago, and there were some pictures of the console, which is rather strange. This is one which I was listening to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgXE0YJtVJg&feature=related

During the Allegro there is a picture of the organ case and pipework, but the console is nowhere to be seen. During the Grave, at about three minutes, there is a picture of the console, but this time the organ case cannot be seen, so it is not possible to tell where they are located in relation to each other. Finally, during the Presto, there are more pictures of the case and pipework, but again the console cannot be seen.

The console seems to be of an unusual design, with the stop jambs positioned parallel to the manuals, and it looks like some of the stop knobs would be out of reach of the organist.

There's another video of the same organ here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6k74Lx3DU&feature=related

In this one it is possible to see a better view of the console, and it looks even odder. It seems to have been squeezed into a narrow space, and there seem to be another set of stop knobs behind the organist. Surely, (s)he isn't expected to turn around to operate them? It even looks like there might be a second set of manuals here, hidden behind a wooden panel, but I don't think there could be a second pedal board, and the bench is positioned just about midway,so there wouldn't be room for two organists to play together.

I know that there are several organists here; does anybody know why this console is designed like this?

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-13-2011, 05:44 PM:

I'll bet that some or all of the stops are pneumatically actuated and that there's a button somewhere to change settings.

Either that or there's an assistant to pull stops on the organist's cue.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-13-2011, 06:02 PM:

Randy,

could well be on a more modern organ, but I think this one dates from long before such things were introduced.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-14-2011, 09:45 AM:

Well, if it's in a Catholic church they probably have an abundance of acolytes.

Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 04-14-2011, 10:49 AM:

This is a tracker (mechanical action) organ. The video shows the organ case. The console is at the bottom of and integral to the case.

Indeed the layout of the draw knobs is inconvenient at best, and likely an assistant changed registrations for the player.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 04-14-2011, 12:22 PM:

I have seen several modern trackers built with the draw knobs positioned like that

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 04-14-2011, 12:40 PM:

Ya, they had "Stop pullers"- people assigned to pull the drawknobs on cue - positioned on each side of the "playdeck" -which was the term then for the manual setup for these baroque organs.

Watch this example of "Stop Pullers" in action with this early 20th century piece of Louis Vierne: "Naïades" on a baroque organ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1hvfViRsDI
... and similar operations at another baroque organ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGXsiBr81wk&feature=related

Being all mechanical tracker action-there were no couplers until the Romantic Era and Cavaille-Coll when the Symphonic Organ was introduced.