Bellows being manually inflated, fascinating

[Contratrombone64]

Got to love the Calvinists, they spent a lot of time burning their Catholic brothers and sisters for religious views. I really thank god on a daily basis I'm an athiest.

[Soubasse]

The first organ I ever played was in a church to which my dad (an Anglican priest) was assigned. We were shown inside the organ chamber by one of the parishoners who knew a little bit about the instrument, and the only way to get to the back of the chamber was to duck beneath the long arm used for manual inflation of the bellows - and it still worked. It was quite the novelty since we could swing on this lever and have someone at the front playing it quite sucessfully. It was also much quieter than the electric blower (one of those very noisy, two-stage Discus blowers that sounded like a spaceship taking off, I'm sure someone here has heard them!).

This organ was originally installed before electricity reached this (then small, now far too big) Adelaide Hills town hence the manual bellows (and the candlestick holders for reading light at the console). We were also told that choirboys were seconded into calcant duties in the organ chamber, which explained the rather old, chalked grafitti on the Bourdon windchest adjacent to the pumping lever: "Little devils - this is hell!"

There's a page about the organ here,
http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/MtBarkerAng.html
but they got their dates wrong in regard to the repairs to the bellows, which actually took place in 1981, not 91. I recall being quite grumpy about it because of the amount of time that the organ was unplayable, robbing me of my much loved practice time! Sadly, the installation of the vertical bellows also meant disconnecting the pumping arm.

OT (and perhaps for another topic) @ David: Re your last sentence above, that's a big +1 from me.

[Marc]

Got to love the Calvinists, they spent a lot of time burning their Catholic brothers and sisters for religious views. I really thank god on a daily basis I'm an athiest.

Got to love the humans, they spent a lot of time burning their human brothers and sisters for different convictions.
I myself am quite happy I do not have such a conviction which claims there is a one-sided absolute truth.

(Could not resist this. But yes, it's OT .... and perhaps for another topic.)




Btw, just to let you all know: the Noordwolde organ, as most other 'manual' treats, can also be played with electric blower(s).

[Contratrombone64]

There's a page about the organ here,
http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/MtBarkerAng.html

What a little sweety, those front pipes look like facade, are they?

[wljmrbill]

Soulbasse.. very interesting instrument.. " cute little fellow" too. I bet it has a nice sound.

[Marc]

The world is filled with cuties, sweets and treats!



Let's enjoy them!

[Soubasse]

@ David: nope, all pipes in that old dear talk properly, no dummies there. It was very pleasantly voiced for an old Dodd, especially the principals and the Claribel, the latter of which had that lovely English Victorian quality to it. One of my former teachers, originally a cathedral organist from Yorkshire once said that a well voiced Claribel should sound like "thermal underwear"

[wljmrbill]

The world is filled with cuties, sweets and treats!



Let's enjoy them!

AMEN !! Marc.

[Marc]

The world is filled with cuties, sweets and treats!



Let's enjoy them!

AMEN !! Marc.

I certainly did enjoy a (non-manual-bellows ) concert tonight: Wolfgang Scherer playing on both the little Picard-organ (1742) and the grand Agricola/Schnitger/Hinsz-organ (1482/1691/1740) in the Marti****rk, Groningen.
Lots of Italian, French and German baroque treats, including the dazzling Toccata & Fugue in F-Major BWV 540.

I also did have my beer(s) afterwards.

Now I'm both filled .... and exhausted ....

[Contratrombone64]

Marc, BWV 540 is simply devine, love it! Bach was just so masterful and crafty!