Console
The organ's playing desk with manuals and pedalboard.
What it means
The console — in German Spieltisch — is the organist's workplace: the unit made up of several manuals, the pedalboard, the stop knobs or rocker tabs, the couplers, swell pedals, and, in newer instruments, an electronic combination system for storing registrations. The console can be built fixed into the organ case or be free-standing and movable. It is not the instrument itself but the interface to it: the keys control, by way of actions, the valves that let the wind to the pipes.
Musical use
The layout of the console reflects the specification of the organ. Each manual serves a division of its own with its own stock of pipes and its own character — Great, Rückpositiv, Swell, and others, depending on the instrument. Couplers connect these divisions so that one manual plays the stops of another along with it. From this results the specific art of organ playing: a change of manual is at the same time a change of tone colour and is used as a means of articulation, for instance in the alternation between solo and accompaniment. Since every organ is specified differently, a registration has to be devised anew for each instrument.
Performance practice
Before playing, get an overview: note the stop names, the pitch lengths in feet, and the assignment of the manuals, and try out the couplers and the swell pedal. Adjust the bench so that the toes reach the pedals without stretching and the pelvis stays free. Plan registration changes choreographically — which hand is free when, or whether you need an assistant to draw stops. Use the combination system, if there is one, and write down the combinations, because memory slots can be overwritten by others. With mechanical action, expect a noticeably heavier touch, especially with couplers engaged.
Keep in mind that consoles are laid out very differently: the number and order of the manuals, the position of the stop knobs, and the position of the swell pedals change from instrument to instrument. Take time before playing for the first time to take everything in, and note the assignment. With free-standing consoles you often sit far from the pipes, so that the sound arrives delayed; then go by the touch and not by the ear. Check the combination system and secure your combinations in writing.