The pipe organ of my dreams... (Part 1)

[Frederik Magle]

invisible-ML-243-ML-

temporarily moved to my secret lab for editing

[musicalis]

No news.
Is it editd now ?
Thanks
J-Paul

[methodistgirl]

Magle, when are you going to show this one? I'm curious! Can you tell
us more about it?
judy tooley

[Krummhorn]

Judy,
Frederik posted the pic a few months ago ... here it is:


Frederik Magle's Home Instrument

[Corno Dolce]

Hello Master Krummhorn,

I wonder about the specs - what kinds of tones he has available?

Cheers,

CD

[Krummhorn]

Hi Corno Dolce,

From a prior thread Frederik had created, this (I believe) is the stoplist:



My "first" organ...
The first organ I have "designed" (stop-list and console design) has been build by Flemming Fald and Skandinavisk Orgelcentrum.

The stop-list (disposition) is as follows:

Manual I, Grand Orgue

Bourdon 16'
Montre 8'
Flûte harmonique 8'
Salicional 8'
Bourdon 8'
Prestant 4'
Flûte octaviante 4'
Doublette 2'
Cornet V
Fourniture IV
Trompette 8'
Clairon 4'

Manual II, Récit Expressif

Flûte traversière 8'
Viole de Gambe 8'
Voix Céleste 8'
Cor de Nuit 8'
Quintaton 8'
Flûte douce 4'
Plein Jeu III
Bombarde 16'
Trompette harmonique 8'
Basson-Hautbois 8'
Voix Humaine 8'
Clairon harmonique 4'

Pédales

Contre-Bourdon 32'
Flûte 16'
Contrebasse 16'
Flûte 8'
Flûte 4'
Contre-Bombarde 32'
Bombarde 16'
Trompette 8'

Frederik, in a later post, recorded an unrehearsed improvisation he made on this instrument:

http://www.magle.dk/audio/frederik_m...o-19-08-07.mp3

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Master Krummhorn,

Thanx for sharing the speclist and the improv that Sir Frederik played. Yeah, it might have been unrehearsed but wow - he is so musical. Imho, an improv gives the listener just a little peek at the musical soul of the artist and in this case I am extremely impressed.

Its a rich spec for a two-manual home organ and it is the type that can really get the improvisational juices flowing.

Cheers,

CD

[methodistgirl]

I think that Magle's organ is really neat! I wished I had the room in
this little apartment for an organ. I would have to get a keyboard
no bigger than my laptop that I'm typing on now.
judy tooley

[Krummhorn]

Hi, Corno Dolce

You are welcome ... I know that will be pleased as punch to read your compliments.

Indeed, a well rounded spec ... I was surprised at the VH on the stoplist - a useful stop, but besides "torch songs" I've only seen it called out once in registrations and that was for one of the Franck chorales.

I agree that the instrument can make or break an improvisation session. Even though my church instrument is 9 rks, there is enough variety in tonal colours available to keep my inspirational interest.

[Corno Dolce]

Hello Master Krummhorn,

I love using the VH in combination with the strings and an octave coupler. If the VH is too loud, I have been known to go inside an organ case and turn the pipes around so that the opening at the top of the pipes point to the rear of the swell box. Imho, it tends to moderate the sound and gives a better blending.
Yes, it might be considered a "dirty trick" by some but I'm somewhat finicky and persnickety about the VH, but there are exceptions... They should at all times blend with the other pipework - not in some cases act like a strident little Napoleon.

Cheers,

CD

ps. Tournemire quite often employs VH with strings in his L'Orgue Mystique.

[Krummhorn]

Hi Corno Dolce,

Your "dirty trick" was interesting ... I have once done something similar - a former church a long time ago had a 5 rk "wicked" pos ... 15 inches of wind ... horseshoe console, double touch, etc. Required monthly tunings, and when the tech died, I took over the maintenance and tuning, as nobody else would touch that organ with an eleven foot pole.

The spec was Diapason, Tibia (real hooty one), Salicional, Melodia, and a VH. I closed all the caps on the VH, then tuned them a couple cents sharp to the Salicional, a quasi-crap-cheap String celeste. The Salicional was quite bold in sound, almost equaling the Melodia, so the match was good. When used with the theatrical trems, the sound was almost ethereal ... maybe "eerie" would be a better term.

[Corno Dolce]

Oh Master Krummhorn - VH qualified with the Salicional - you slay me
A VH on 15" of wind? yeah, that can be quite a racket with such a small resonator. Did you say "Wicks"(wicked)? Gee, I've never heard of Wicks pipes speaking on 15" of wind.

Speaking of "Torch Songs" - are you thinking about Lemare's "Moonlight And Roses" or the cloyingly oozing and smarmy works by Ketelby?

Cheers,

CD

[Krummhorn]

Dear Corno Dolce,

Yes, the "wicked" reference is correct ... at least in that particular organ's case - acquired from a local theatre it still had the Xylophone in the pipe chamber - it wasn't wired though ... it even had the old time relay box operated on wind pressure ... maybe in its heyday it was a good instrument.

Yup, the Sal and VH combination was "different", but in that case it was all I had to work with, so I made the best of it. I later removed the Tibia and replaced it with a 4' Trombone which finally made the organ heard for the first time in the back row of the building.

Yes, 15" is correct - hence the monthly tunings ... the dang pipes were being overblown constantly and the complete organ was never in tune with itself - that is until I took over the tunings as I would touch up a few pipes during the week. The poor thing had at least one cipher every week ... needless to say, it was an adventure playing that "wicked" beast.

Now, so as not to offend those who love Wicks organs, they are a decent builder and I've played many of their finer instruments and liked what I heard ... it's just this old one from 1920 or so was a complete pos. It finally got totally dismantled and parted out - the only thing worth salvaging was the pipe work.

Torch Songs? Because ... I Love You Truly ... Oh Promise Me those are what I was making reference to ... I loathe those songs.

[Corno Dolce]

WOW Krummhorn - a 4' Trombone on 15"? That makes for a nice small-scale party horn

I laud you for your imagination in how to rectify an anemic ensemble. Since you've been around Theatre Organs more than I, what would you think the cost per stop on an Allen Theatre organ would be? I know Walker's Theatre Organ stops were about $2000 each. It might have increased like everything else.

FWIW - I like Allen's Theatre organs more than their Church and Concert Hall installations.

Cheers,

CD

[Krummhorn]

Corno Dolce,

Yes, the Trombone was somewhat frightening to some parishioners when I used it for the first time ... On the chest though, it was the furthest rank from the swell shutters, which were mounted 6' above the chest, and the grill cloth was burlap ... it needed all 15" of wind to get heard, for sure.

I'll tell you why you probably prefer AOC's theatre organs ... one man ... Dwight Beacham!! I knew Dwight when he worked for Gould Music in Pasadena (CA) - I was the Allen Installer/Technician for that store for several years in the late 70's. A lot of Dwight's ideas got incorporated into the theatre design and spec ... George Wright also was another supporter for years ... I had to make a very minor service call on Mr. Wright's Allen 620 (two manual, horseshoe digital) once and was duly entertained with a short sampling of Wright's classical side ... yes, he could play the classical Bach just as well as Gershwin.

I've not been involved with Allen for almost 15 years now, so I'm out of touch with stop prices. You might email the factory with the query.