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Colourful Cases

Logan30

New member
Do you know of a colourful organ case? What is the most modern case you know of? Have a link or a pic?

I am moving a small organ into a modern church renovation and am suggesting we don't use the 1914 quarter cut oak case/facade (with gold painted pipes). The organ itself is from 1995 so the great pipes are mostly polished tin and spotted metal with beautiful blond wood wind-chests. The recycled swell box -from the 1914 organ- is solid and massive. As the you look at the organ, about 25 feet wide, the great is on the left and the swell box is on the right. Pedal pipes are tucked behind the great and swell box.

I'm thinking we expose the great pipes and chest, paint the swell box a dynamic colour like bright green or blue. We then build a box around the great organ or the entire organ with the same blond wood used in the great chests. I have used this type of open sound-shell in the past to great effect. It keeps the dirt from falling in and gives an acoustic boost to the sound/projection of the organ.

Thoughts would be appreciated.

N
 

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
The Disney Rat's Nest Organ.......The organbuilding equivalent of *Wardrobe Malfunction* :grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:
 

Logan30

New member
Yes, thanks for the reference to the Disney organ. I'm looking for more obscure, likely Northern European instruments. Northern Europe tends to be a little more ahead of the game in my opinion and able to take more risks.

Any other thoughts out there?

N
 

pcnd5584

New member
Look at the beautiful organ in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in Los Angeles...you'll fear nothing.

I can appreciate that beauty is, as is said, in the eye of the beholder - but to me, this instrument simply looks like the aftermath of an explosion in a pencil case. For that matter, it does not really satisfy the stipulation 'colourful'. Whilst it is certainly not monochrome, put next to the cases of the organs in (for example) Westminster Abbey or the Cathedral of Aix-en-Provence, the organ in the Walt Disney Concert Hall is somewhat drab.

Westminster Abbey: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2341043273_06af9bd89f.jpg?v=0

Aix-en-Provence: http://www.organartmedia.com/images/Aix-OrganFacade2.jpg
 
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pcnd5584

New member

This looks interesting - but I would not be surprised if the titulaire shortly begins to wish that he had thought more carefully about the stoplist of the Pédale Orgue. I sould imagine that he may well soon tire of continually having to draw the Tirasse Bombarde, in order to supply a quieter 16ft. flue - and a rather more useful 16ft. Bombarde.

In addition - and even without hearing it, I should wish for a Diapason (or Montre, if you prefer) at 8ft. pitch on at least the Bombarde, if not also the Récit-Expressif.
 
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Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
After reading Pascal Quoirin's homily I understood that he has a penchant for Dom Bedos. Of course, I too wished that the inclusion of a Montre 8' in the Bombarde and Récit, a 16' flue and reed in the pedal and a Voix Celeste in the Récit.
 

Logan30

New member
Let me something positive about the Disney organ. It is instantly recognizable, out of the box creative and makes me smile. Remarkably, there is still a symmetrical aspect to the design. It is 'colourful' from a concept point of view and considering the geunius, Frank Gehry, designed the facade, it is a masterpiece of the early 21st C.
It looks so dynamic in the hall where it resides.
I hope I have the pleasure of seeing it and hearing it someday.
 

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
In the dry acoustic of Disney Hall, the reeds only snarl at you and the mixtures scream. Sorry, Glatter-Götz/Rieger instruments are *orgelbewegung movement* on life support. Sure, the organ design is *iin your face upstart*, kind of like Jackson Pollock on Quaaludes :grin::grin::grin:
 

Logan30

New member


Here is a beautiful modern case that displays some asymmetry but lacks colour (certainly not a fault).

http://i.pbase.com/u25/steve_kc/large/15313827.sanctuary.jpg

Dobson dropped some colour in on this case! Love it. Visually stimulating but the horizontals and the burgundy pipes seem to create a real calm for my eye.

http://www.dobsonorgan.com/html/instruments/op83_lancaster/portrait.jpg

An interesting photo of an organ case. I suspect the pipes are not blue nor the wood so yellow - but an very interesting concept. The blue and the yellow really vibrate being almost complements on the colour wheel. The photographer is creating a balanced visual composition (avoiding symmetry) - notice how your eye keeps moving around the image. Super photo.

http://www.andyhearnphotography.com/images/Abstracts/Church_Organ_01_edit_1000.jpg


 
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