Organ

What it means

The organ is a keyboard instrument whose notes are produced by pipes. A blower supplies wind, which is led into windchests; when the player presses a key, a valve opens and lets air into the corresponding pipes. Which ranks of pipes respond at all is determined by the stops. A distinction is made between flue pipes, which are blown across an edge like a recorder, and reed pipes with a vibrating metal tongue. The console carries several manuals and a pedalboard; couplers connect the divisions with one another.

Musical use

The organ can hold notes for any length of time but knows no touch dynamics: whether a key is pressed gently or hard changes nothing about the sound. Shaping therefore happens through registration, articulation, tempo, and, where present, the swell box. Its repertoire reaches from the Renaissance to the present and is closely tied to worship, without being limited to it. Because every organ is built specifically for its room and has a different disposition, every instrument is a unique piece, and registrations must be newly devised each time.

Performance practice

Before playing, get an overview of stops, footages, couplers, and the swell pedal, and write down your registration. Set the bench so that the feet reach the pedal without stretching. Articulation is your most important means of expression: the length of the notes and the separation between them replace the missing dynamics, especially in older music. Reckon with the reverberation of the room and adapt the tempo to it; what sounds clear at the console can blur in the nave. Plan stop changes choreographically or with registrants and check the combination action beforehand.

Bear in mind that every organ has its own action: mechanical instruments respond directly and allow fine articulation, electric ones react more evenly but less distinctly. Check this on an unfamiliar instrument first, by playing short and long notes on various stops. Plan stop changes with a view to which hand is free, and write them down. Reckon with the reverberation of the room and adapt tempo and articulation. Report sticking or ciphering pipes to the organ builder instead of intervening yourself.