In order to make some contribution toward a clearer approach as to what constitutes an adequate instrument for the Lutheran Church, we have cut through the many incidental problems connected with the construction of such a facility and wish to confine our remarks rather closely to the center of the problem of laying out an organ for the average church, as required in the majority of our parishes. This center, we maintain, lies in careful and systematic stop-apportionment based upon correct acoustical and physical principles in their relation to the church building into which the instrument is to be placed, and upon the needs the organ may be intended to fulfill. Unless these two cardinal principles are observed, the organ may, already in the blueprinting stage, be expected to result in a disappointing failure. There has been far too much apparently aimless planning with respect to the tonal forces of organs installed in our churches, especially in recent decades, so that it is paramount for us to clarify our thinking in this regard by setting out a few guideposts not only to help prevent the further erection of such totally inadequate and ineffective equipment as we have been forced to inspect or play these many years, but also to encourage the creation of such instruments upon which the musical heritage of our church can find adequate and vital expression, and the chorale can be carried forward to incite the congregation to joyful and hearty participation.

It is our candid opinion that the hymnody and organ literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which is the fountainhead of our Lutheran musical heritage, cannot be effectively presented upon the average Lutheran church organ of today, inasmuch as the large majority of these instruments are predicated upon an entirely different philosophy of tonal ensemble, if ensemble they possess at all, than prevailed in the days of Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Walther, Boehm, Fischer, and the Bachs, and for which this music was directly conceived. Whenever we have had the doubtful pleasure of hearing this classical literature performed by our organists upon such inadequate instruments in their churches, we have been secretly forced to admit that its renaissance would meet with but little or halfhearted success, and that its quality, worth, and musical message would have to be talked into our people rather than played into them. On the other hand, to hear this same literature performed upon instruments which, in their tonal structure, display the principles of classical tonal design at least to some degree, is to welcome its rebirth enthusiastically. This awakened interest and ready reception, we have observed, does not spring merely from the soul of the organist imbued with a patriotic fervor or an acute antiquarian interest, but from the present-day musician and layman alike.

Here, then, lies one of the keys to the reopening of our Church’s musical storehouse: let us place instruments into our houses of worship which, in their tonal layouts, exemplify the principles of classical design. Then we shall not lack organists to take hold and fill our churches with the richness of these contrapuntal creations and the hearts of our worshipers with the same glowing joy and zeal that breathed from the souls of our forefathers.

We shall herewith attempt to lay before you as well as this can be accomplished in such a brief presentation, a few of the important principles of classical design and tonal ensemble, and show how these can systematically be applied to present-day stop-apportionment in organs destined for our churches. We pose three problems for our consideration:

The Problem of Harmonic Corroboration with Respect to Laying Out the Prinzipal Chorus

The principle of harmonic corroboration is peculiar to the tonal structure of the pipe organ. Although based upon sound physical and acoustical phenomena, its application in an artificial way to strengthen and enlarge the richness of organ tone has, over the centuries, been arrived at largely by experience.

The Harmonic Series of Natural Sounds

The physical basis for this practice lies in the theory of the harmonic series of natural sounds. Simply stated, this theory proposes that the timbre, i.e., the quality or degree of richness of any given musical tone is controlled by the component harmonics of that tone. Accordingly, the very rich tone, as produced by stringed-and-bowed instruments, is the result of a rather complete and significant structure of harmonic partials (overtones) present in the tone in a natural way. Conversely, the rather dull and uninteresting musical tone produced by the usual covered flute-stop in the pipe organ derives its quality from an incomplete and somewhat impoverished structure of its natural harmonic partials. Between these two extremes, of course, lie infinite variations.

In most instruments, such as those of the orchestra, the tones produced by them are entities, i.e., they possess, by virtue of their structure and method of tone production, a timbre considered sufficiently rich in its own natural harmonics, for the type of tone desired to require no artificial strengthening in the upper partials. In the pipes comprising a stop in the organ, and especially so in pipes of the Prinzipal class, however, experience has taught that a given single rank of pipes does not and apparently cannot be constructed to possess a sufficiently rich timbre or a significant enough harmonic structure to render such a stop an entity in the sense that by itself alone it is adequate to fulfill and satisfy the purposes for which it is intended, namely, to supply a full tone of the richness and sonority required in a church building and necessary to lead a congregation well in singing, or to perform the instrumental compositions of the masters. To correct this inherent weakness in organ pipes, particularly in those of the Prinzipal class, master builders and voicers for centuries sought and variously succeeded to improve the full tone of the organ by strengthening the harmonic structure of the tone in an artificial way according to the sound physical laws of the theory of the harmonic series.

According to this theory it is held that any given tone sounds the pitch of its fundamental component or prime partial, and its timbre is controlled by the presence, in varying degrees of strength, of its upper partials. In a graphic way, the harmonic series can be visualized thus:

Fig. 1. The harmonic series based upon Great C, which will be the pitch actually sounded.

The Principle of Numerical Preponderance

The partials indicated in Figure 1 could be extended far beyond the upper limit here set, as shown by the arrow, but for our purposes the range adopted will suffice in the application of the principles of the harmonic series to the enrichment of a Prinzipal chorus. Four octaves are shown, in the lower two of which the partials are fairly distant from each other, while in the upper octaves they become increasingly more adjacent. If the pitches of the upper partials[2]and their intervallic relationships with the prime tone are observed, it will be noticed that the unison pitch (C) occurs four times; the fifth (G), three times; the third (E), twice; the seventh (a theoretical pitch between B-flat and B-natural), twice; and the fourth (a theoretical pitch between F-sharp and F-natural), the second (D), and the sixth (A), once. By the frequency of their occurrence we can readily determine which partials can be successfully employed in the artificial enrichment of the timbre. As a general rule, a given Prinzipal chorus, thoroughly enriched, ought to contain in its appointment of supporting harmonic stops more unisons than fifths, more fifths than thirds, and so on. In actual practice it has been found that unisons and fifths lend considerable, if not sufficient, richness to the Prinzipal chorus of the average church organ, and the introduction of thirds and sevenths (and, rarely, seconds) has been deemed advisable only on large and comprehensive instruments. This observation of the frequency of partials in a given series has led us to designate this phenomenon as the principle of numerical preponderance.

The Artificial Corroboration of Partials

When these upper partials are to be corroborated artificially, it is of the greatest importance that the introduction of such stops be disposed in the natural order of things as shown in the foregoing sketch. Thus, a fifteenth, although a unison, ought not to be introduced before an octave, or a nineteenth before a twelfth. Also, bearing in mind the principle of the numerical preponderance of unisons over fifths, and fifths over thirds in the disposition of the upper partials, a twelfth ought not to appear before an octave and fifteenth, or a nineteenth before the group comprising the octave, twelfth, fifteenth, and twenty-second. Stated in another way, any fifth-sounding partial to be introduced ought to be accompanied by its next higher and next lower unison partial, and any third-sounding rank ought to be accompanied by its next higher and next lower unison and fifth-sounding partials.

E. F. Richter, the noted organ theoretician and professor at the Leipzig Konservatorium der Musik, in the last century, states this principle very pointedly:

The Effective Implementation of Artificial Corroboration

Limiting our discussion for the moment, in the interest of clarity, to a single stop of the 8´Prinzipal, voiced to as rich a tone as can be achieved, we find that all the partials indicated in Figure 1 are present in the individual tones in a natural way, albeit in too weak a sonority to lend sufficient richness to the tone. To improve the timbre, another stop which speaks the second partial as its prime tone is introduced. This single addition, designated as a 4´Octave, experience has shown, already enriches the timbre and sonority of the original voice to a marked degree, inasmuch as it not only strengthens the second partial artificially, but also doubles all the other partials above it in a natural way by its own harmonic content. The next addition, according to our principles, would be the incorporation of a pair of voices speaking as their prime tones the third and fourth partials of the original voice. These voices are designated as 2 2/3´Twelfth and 2´Fifteenth, since they speak the twelfth and fifteenth scale steps of the fundamental. An ensemble, even of these limited resources, will put the church organ into another class and give it that virility, color, and richness so ardently sought in the ensembles of church organs of the past and present.

The Completion of the Full Ensemble

At this point, then, our Prinzipal chorus would be constituted of the following ranks of pipes: 8´Prinzipal, 4´Octave, 2 2/3´Twelfth, and 2´Fifteenth. Such a disposition, in organ parlance, is generally spoken of as a "restricted ensemble." It is customary, in the best practice, to crown this nucleus with three or four sets of additional small pipes sounding the next higher partials (19th, 22d, 26th, 29th) in order to achieve what is known as a "full ensemble." These higher ranks are then usually disposed so as to be drawn by a single stop-knob, and are designated in a group as Mixture III ranks or IV ranks, as the case may be.

Such a chorus of Prinzipal pipes, disposed in the manner indicated, is, in our opinion, of the most essential value and paramount necessity in establishing the core of a truly noble and musically satisfying church organ, particularly so in our Lutheran churches.

Expansion of the Full Ensemble

Inasmuch as church organs are composed of two or three divisions, dictated largely by the number of keyboards, it is necessary to lay some type of Prinzipal chorus on at least two, and, possibly, three manuals. The first, or primary, chorus appears on the Great, and, in the best tradition, invariably as a chorus based upon an 8´ harmonic series. Such a series would comprise (for example): 8´Prinzipal, 4´Octave, 2 2/3´Twelfth, 2´Fifteenth, and III rank Mixture. This disposition would indicate that the fundamental pitch of that division, as dictated by its Prinzipal voices, would be one of 8´ designation, or the natural pitch of human voices. All the partials introduced as supporting harmonic corroborating stops would not alter this pitch level, but strengthen it, enrich its timbre, and enlarge its sonority.

Criticism of Recent Practice

To duplicate this chorus upon another manual, such as the Swell or Choir, would, according to the practice of the classical builders, prove a redundancy both costly and undesirable; costly, in that the price of the organ, already in its salient ensembles, would be doubled, and undesirable, in that any effective and necessary contrast between two divisions would be effectively negated. The method adopted by most American builders in the past to prevent such a redundancy in the average church organ has been to scatter a few sets of Prinzipal pipes, usually of 8´ pitch, on the other keyboards with very little regard for their function other than an apparently instinctive feeling that some Prinzipal tone must be provided in the subsidiary divisions. Usually the cause for such haphazard, unsystematic, and wasteful practice lies with the purchaser in exercising a false, restrictive economy, and in urging upon the builder certain views with respect to the disposition of the tonal forces, based upon little less than the personal whims of one or the other committee member entrusted with the negotiation of a contract. Again it may be the fault of prejudicial economy exercised by the salesman of the firm, who, in the nature of circumstances incident to the negotiation of a contract in American commercial practice, has far too heavy a hand in specifying the tonal resources and their disposition than should be tolerated, and whose primary concern is to effect a sale regardless of the damage that may ensue to the artistic entity of the proposed instrument.

We feel that no single rank of pipes ought to be haphazardly introduced into any instrument to be placed into a church, and that no voice ought to be specified on any stop-list unless a clear understanding of its function as an individual voice, as a complement to other voices, and as an ensemble voice has been achieved. Unless this principle is rigidly observed, serious mistakes are bound to be made, and their effect upon the total instrument will be cause for long regret.

The Petite Ensemble of Prinzipal Pipes

In order effectively to present our arguments for the erection of a "petite ensemble" of Prinzipal voices upon a subsidiary manual, it will be necessary to look briefly into the effective functioning of the various divisions of an organ as concerns their chief ensembles, even though this may presuppose a certain knowledge of ensemble function not yet discussed in our deliberations.

If we agree that the Great is the home of the Prinzipal chorus based upon an 8´ harmonic series, and the Swell the home of the reed chorus, then it would appear that a petite ensemble of Prinzipal voices would logically fall to the Choir. Furthermore, since it would be redundant to duplicate the Great chorus, or to erect a similar one upon the same 8´ basis, we hold, from an inspection of the best works of the classical builders, and from a conviction that the true function of the Choir division demands it, that a petite ensemble of Prinzipal pipes should be erected in this division and based upon a 4´ harmonic series.

The Prinzipal Ensembles in Combination

While the Great would contain the Prinzipal ensemble voices of the 8´ series as 8´Prinzipal, 4´Octave, 2 2/3´Twelfth, 2´Fifteenth, and III rank Mixture, the Choir would show a Prinzipal family on a 4´ series as 4´Prinzipal, 2´Octave, and II or III rank Mixture. It is in this sense that we choose to call this layout a petite ensemble, namely, that it imitates the Great, but in pipes of half the size and twice the respective frequencies of vibration. How such a disposition will effect a judicious economy in expending funds is at once apparent from the accompanying outline:

Here we have a basic ensemble in each division, thoroughly contrasting and fully complementary by conventional methods of coupling. We can have Swell to Great at unison, octave, and suboctave; Choir to Great in the same relation; and Swell to Choir. Each division has its own distinctive ensemble, well able to stand alone. There are no voices either of Prinzipals or reeds haphazardly disposed. In actual use, seven full ensembles are available by unison coupling alone:

Which other ensemble possibilities are available to the organist by octave and suboctave coupling can readily be surmised.

The Use of the Petite Ensemble

The Prinzipal chorus in the Choir will admirably serve the primary functions of this division when based upon a 4´ series. Regardless of the ever-present arguments advanced by various writers on the subject, whether the Choir derives its name from its historical use as the organ for the choir, or its location as a Rueckpositiv, or "chair" organ, we maintain that since it will be used a great deal for the accompaniment of petite vocal ensembles or solo voices, it should contain as a primary feature of its tonal resources, a petite ensemble of Prinzipal pipes as we have proposed. Such an ensemble will give this division the necessary lightness and transparency so thoroughly admired in the orchestra when scored for vocal support, and conspicuously absent in the usual church organ. The presence of the necessary flutework at graver pitches, which must be incorporated into this division anyway, will prevent its sounding a full octave higher when used with voices.

Examples from Classical Times

A cursory inspection of the specifications of the classical builders will indicate a striving for these same results. We present herewith the stop-list of the Brustwerk of a three-manual instrument installed by Gottfried Silbermann in the Frauenkirche zu Dresden, 1736, and dedicated by Friedemann Bach, Nov. 16, 1736.[4]

The same principles prevail in the stop-list of the Brustwerk of an organ in Freiburg, Saxony, designed by Johann Kuhnau and built by Gottfried Silbermann in 1714.[5]

In two-manual instruments, the petite ensemble will, of course, be placed into the Swell, which is the practice generally observed by the classical builders. The organ in the St. Georg zu Roetha church, built by Gottfried Silbermann in 1721, illustrates this practice.[6]

Upon the success of this instrument Richter comments as follows: "Der majestaetische, feierliche Klang dieser Orgel, an welcher sich seit ihrer Aufstellung wesentliche Reparaturen nicht noetig gemacht haben, ist ueberwaeltigend; sie wuerde jeder groesseren Domkirche zur Ehre und Zierde gereichen."[7]

Prinzipal Voices in the Swell

To such a disposition of Prinzipal choruses upon the Great and Choir must then be added at least one or a pair of Prinzipal stops in the Swell. In this division a Prinzipal ensemble is not necessary, since the backbone of the Swell must be a chorus of reeds. In the Swell the Prinzipal voices serve in a secondary capacity, much in the manner of the flutes in the Great, namely, to fill out in respectively heavier quality of tone, the skeletal ensemble incident to the division; while the flutes in the Great must lend body and fullness to the Prinzipal ensemble, the Prinzipal work in the Swell must anchor the reed chorus.

Much misunderstanding is prevalent regarding the mixture work in the Swell. In the best tradition, the Swell mixture ought not to be considered as part of the Prinzipal work in the Swell, but rather as the completion of the reed chorus. The present-day method of writing stop-lists, together with the placement of the knobs or tongues in the console have been largely responsible for this lack of understanding. We feel that the Swell mixture ought to be written in directly after the reeds rather than before, as is now the general practice; so, instead of A, we should have B:

At A, the mixture work appears to be part of a Prinzipal ensemble, whereas at B, it clearly shows up as the corroboration of the reed work. The differentiation is important since mixtures intended to corroborate reedwork are compounded far differently from those which corroborate Prinzipal voices.

In view of these facts, we hold that the Swell does not require a full or restricted ensemble in Prinzipal pipes, but only a representation in the graver pitches, in order to lend body to the chorus of reeds, which is the Swell’s distinctive and controlling ensemble.

The Prinzipal Ensemble of the Pedal

With the Prinzipal choruses properly disposed within the manual divisions in keeping with correct physical principles, adequate provision must be made in the pedal. This division has been a problem to organ builders of all centuries and has had, therefore, a most checkered career in its history. If we remember that a large pedal organ requires enormous space for its pipes and adequate speaking room for their mouths, besides entailing huge costs in its construction, it will not be difficult to see why practically all church organ pedal divisions are specified as small as possible, or smaller.

We should like to propose this guiding principle in the disposition of pedal organs: The pedal is both a dependent and an independent division. We come to this conclusion upon an inspection of the literature written for the organ. When the pedal serves as a harmonic reinforcement of the bass line, in the manner of the transposing Contrabassi of the orchestra when playing together with the Violoncelli, it may be considered a dependent division. In such cases the division may be quite restricted, requiring resort to the couplers. Even so, this comparison implies more than meets the eye. If the combination of ‘Bassi and ‘Celli is considered adequate for a good harmonic bass in the orchestra, the organ will require more than a 16´Prinzipal and a unison coupler to meet this combination in timbre and clarity. The Prinzipal voice, as was mentioned above, must be enriched by artificial harmonic corroboration to meet the richness of the bowed string in any ensemble function. Accordingly, even in this dependent function, an 8´Octave in the pedal would appear to be the barest essential, not as a representative of the Violoncello, but as the first, and positively most necessary, upper partial needed to strengthen the 16´Prinzipal voice, serving then together with the 16´Prinzipal as a pair of voices comparable in some degree to the Contrabass alone.

Such a dependent function of the pedal is required in all the hymn tunes and much, if not all, of the music of the lesser composers for the organ.

The music of the first rate composers, and practically all the composers of the classical age, as exemplified in our Lutheran heritage, requires the pedal to function in an independent manner. J. S. Bach was the first to state this principle in words as well as in his music. He says, on his title page of the Orgelbuechlein:

Bach here points out to anyone who may not notice it in the written music itself that the pedal part is composed as an obligatory, not a dependent, part. Upon inspection, the second chorale, "Gott, durch deine Guete," already specifies that the pedal must be played and registered independently. The pedal part is in canon at a bar’s distance with the soprano, and Bach specifies two claviers and pedal in the subtitle, indicating "Man. Princip. 8F" and "Ped. Tromp. 8F" at the entries of the canonic voices. In fact, wherever Bach wants two claviers and pedal, he requires a different color upon each of the manuals and a third ensemble upon the pedal clavier. Any of the classical compositions set out in trio style require this same independence. Many of the chorale preludes in the treasure house of the classical composers represented in our heritage call for an independent division, as witness the many splendid treatments of the chorale in the works of Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Buttstett, Krebs, Walther, and others. The literature, therefore, requires that the pedal function both as a dependent and independent division.

We hold, in view of these facts, that the pedal must be more adequately provisioned than has generally been the case, not, however, with a multiple representation in 16´ pedal registers of various degrees of strength, but rather with a nuclear ensemble, in the manner described for the Great and Choir, of the 16´ harmonic series. This ensemble may well be constituted of the following registers: 16´Prinzipal, 8´Octave, 5 1/3´Twelfth, and 4´Fifteenth.[9] In the classical practice, a 16´Violone was substituted for a 16´Prinzipal, and in almost all cases the 8´Octave appeared before the 16´Prinzipal.

Indications in Classical Examples

A rather quick survey of the specifications of pedal organs as built by the classical masters of the eighteenth century reveals the following order of incorporation of pedal registers into their schemes:

Omitting items 1, 5, and 6 as representatives of other families of tone than Prinzipal voices, we find the order of incorporation in fairly close agreement with the principle of artificial harmonic corroboration and numerical preponderance of upper partials as explained before, namely, that the 16´Prinzipal and 8´Octave appear first, with the 4´Fifteenth next, and the 5 1/3´Twelfth last of all.

This layout assures from the very start a pedal ensemble of a 16´ series in close harmony with the ensembles proposed for the Great and Choir.

Summary

The method of stop-apportionment in the Prinzipal choruses of the organ, here discussed, is based upon sound acoustical and physical principles in their relation to the church building into which the organ may be placed, and upon the needs the organ may be expected to fulfill in the Lutheran practice. To review, we suggest a chorus of Prinzipal voices in the Great based upon an 8´ harmonic series, a petite Prinzipal ensemble of a 4´ series in the Choir, and a concomitant chorus in the pedal based upon a 16´ series. Such a disposition, carried out carefully and systematically according to the principles and practices detailed above, assures us an adequate core of Prinzipal voices in every division; a full ensemble thoroughly enriched, possessing marked color and "sheen" for the organ as a whole, and presenting the following additional advantages as necessary by-products:

The Problem of the Reed Chorus

After the Prinzipal choruses have been properly disposed according to the principles set forth, the next immediate problem is the incorporation into the scheme of the chorus of reeds. Here the most varied practice has obtained throughout the history of organ building, and the classical stop-lists cannot, in our opinion, serve us as reliable guides. If we note that the building of first-class reeds and the development of acceptable chorus reed tone had to await the advent of the Willis family of England, we can the more easily excuse the seemingly haphazard dispositions of chorus reeds as they appear in the classical schemes. It appears that they favored reeds in the pedal division and avoided them wherever possible on the manuals, or, if introduced there at all, they appeared generally alone and not in pairs or larger groups. With the development of fine chorus reed tone, as it is available today, there is less need, and less desire, to avoid their incorporation into the properly appointed church organ. In fact, nothing adds more to the tonal resources and harmonic richness of a full organ ensemble than the presence of a well-voiced and well-regulated reed chorus.

Although most of our Lutheran church organs have chorus reeds represented in their tonal schemes, certain erroneous practices have obtained relative to their disposition, which have largely killed their effectiveness. It seems that they have rarely, if ever, been considered as a family of tone well able to stand alone, but as weak adjuncts to Prinzipal choruses. This explains the general, but deplorable, practice of placing 8´Tuba on the Great, with no other chorus reeds present in the organ. The apparent intention in such of our instruments as we have inspected, and which contained this arrangement, has been to use the chorus reed in lieu of proper harmonic corroboration of the Prinzipal chorus, and to make it serve, in a compromising way, two widely different functions which on physical and artistic grounds are incapable of reconciliation. These two functions appear to be a) the corroboration of the Prinzipal chorus by a chorus reed rather than by the proper Prinzipal pipes representing the upper partials of Prinzipal tone; and b) the representation in the full ensemble of some type of reed tone without any careful attention to its own enrichment and certainly not to its use. We would plead for the erection of a family of reeds in the church organ with any pretensions to completeness, so disposed that the family can be played as a reed ensemble without resort to the coupling of manuals.

Harmonic Corroboration of the Reed Chorus

It is a generally accepted fact that properly voiced reeds contain in their natural tone, by virtue of their construction and method of tone production, a far greater harmonic enrichment than is possible to achieve in labial pipes of the Prinzipal class. This would indicate a smaller number of stops in reeds than in Prinzipals. Furthermore, since the full ensemble produced by the Prinzipal choruses is intended to dominate the full organ sound, it would be a mistake to enlarge the reed ensemble to a point where it would override the full organ. Perhaps this is the viewpoint that has led so many organists and builders to err on the weak side, that is, to relegate the reed ensemble to such a place of insignificance that its existence is barely discernible in the average Lutheran church organ. Against this vicious practice we should like to take a firm stand and say that if reeds are to appear, let them be enriched in at least some of their upper partials, appearing, therefore, in the organ as a family and not as isolated sets of pipes distributed over several keyboards or in the same pitches.

A full family of chorus reeds comprises the following stops:

These voices are all from the Trumpet family, which represents the best type of reed tone first to be introduced into the organ, since it possesses a harmonically rich and brilliant, angry and commanding tone, admirably suited to work with the Prinzipal choruses both in contrast and combination. As outlined above, the chorus is quite complete and sufficient for a rather large organ. In the average three-manual Lutheran church instrument some reduction in the interest of economy can be effected. It is quite possible to omit the expensive 16´Posaune from the manual division and substitute a 16´ register (e.g., 16´Fagott) extended from the solo reed stop likely to appear in the same division, i.e., the Oboe or Fagott. This will comprise, however, the limit of reduction, leaving us with two true reed stops, which are the minimum necessary to constitute a family. Any less would result in an isolated 8´ reed stop, to which we objected before.

Treatment of the Upper Partials

Any reed chorus, we feel, ought to be enriched by its first upper partial in reed pipes and subsequent partials in labial pipes of the Prinzipal class. The difference between mixtures corroborating a reed chorus and those corroborating a Prinzipal chorus lies not so much in the physical construction of the pipes or the arrangement of the partials, but more in the treatment of the voicing. In Prinzipal choruses, generally speaking, all the unison ranks comprising the mixtures should be voiced louder and richer while all mutation ranks are subdued and voiced more "obertonrein." In reed choruses the mixtures are treated in an exactly opposite way: the unisons are held slightly more quiet and unassertive than the mutation ranks. This situation points strongly to a differentiation in the mixture work of an organ: at least one mixture correctly designed for the Prinzipal chorus, and another properly set out for reeds. A three- or four-rank mixture to top the chorus of reeds is an expense well warranted in the construction of a church organ.

Location of the Family

When the family of Trumpets is introduced it ought to be placed in one division, namely the Swell, where its full resources can be commanded by one clavier and no resort be necessary to intermanual coupling in order to marshal all the reed forcs. When so disposed, the reed chorus can come into its own in effective use. The advantages deriving from such an arrangement are at once apparent:

Reeds in the Pedal Division

Proper provision for reedwork must be made in the pedal division. At least one true and complete pedal reed should be introduced, voiced as a legitimate pedal register. In the organ in which stops must be held to a minimum in order to keep costs within chaste limits, a single set of 44 reed pipes speaking at 16´ and 8´ pitch should serve the purpose. We like to specify a true pedal rank here rather than an extension from the Swell 8´Trumpet for reasons which usually become apparent only after the organ is erected and played. If the 16´ pedal reed is extended from the Swell unison reed, the ratio of diminution in the first pedal octave will be so great as to render the balance of the set entirely inadequate for pedal function. A 16´ extension, by necessity, halves within the first octave, which is far too fast a ratio for reed pipes. The first half-measure is likely to fall on the tenth or eleventh pipe, whereas in a scientifically correct ratio the diameter is likely to halve not earlier than the 30th or 31st pipe. To show this graphically, we present for comparison two ratios of diminution, one showing the diameters of a nine-inch pedal reed of 16´ pitch developed as an independent pedal register, the other showing a derived reed register of 16´ pitch, the low octave added to a Swell unison Trumpet of four inches diameter. The graph assumes the half-measure to fall on the 31st pipe in the independent pedal register and in the Swell unison Trumpet.

From the sketch it is readily apparent how rapidly the pedal reed tone will deteriorate in the borrow as we approach the first octave, and how inadequate the fullness of tone will be beyond this point, as compared to a true pedal rank scaled and voiced to its proper function in the scheme.

If the 16´Posaune is dispensed with in the manual division and replaced by a borrow and extension of the 8´Fagott, it is the more essential that a true pedal reed be incorporated, so that the tonal balance of the full reed chorus be not materially upset.

The following suggestions will assure us of an effective provision in reed color in the small three-manual Lutheran church organ:

The Problem of Flutework and Mutations

In almost all of the Lutheran church instruments that have come under our observation, the disposition of the flutework has shown a decided lack of understanding as to its function and a sad ignorance as to the many tonal possibilities that can be created at small cost when systematically specified, and that are so insistently called for in the scores of the masters of our Lutheran church music.

The flutework of the organ, wherever it may appear, must supply three distinct and essential functions:

The Flute Kornett Group

The classical builders were past masters in their scheming of the flutework and have left us a rich legacy from which we can filter the salient principles upon which their flute structure was predicated. It seems that the core of the flutework, from which all the other flute ranks in the organ were developed, was a group of voices comprising flutes of 8´ and 4´ pitch together with a number of attendant mutation ranks varying in number from one to three which, for lack of any standard designation, we propose to call the Flute Kornett group, a collective term, referring not to a single rank of pipes nor to a compound register like the mixture, but rather to a family of from four to six individual ranks disposed together into one division, and playable separately by being controlled by individual stop-knobs. Thus, the Flute Kornett group may appear in any of the following layouts:

The Flute Kornett group, if placed into one division, admirably performs the all-important third function described above, namely, it places at our disposal, even in its most concise form as shown at A, at least four characteristic and legitimate solo combinations in keeping with the best intentions of the classical masters. We have available the following characteristic combinations for solo registration:

These possibilities we consider extremely necessary in any organ that is intended to perform the music of our Lutheran heritage. The last-mentioned grouping gives us a full Solo Kornett; the omission of the 2´ register from the combination is essential, inasmuch as the characteristic tone of the Kornett requires the interval of the major sixth in its highest ranks. This does not exclude the 2´ rank from being introduced into the same division as a very desirable voice, but merely restricts it as unnecessary in the full Kornett registration.

The Kornett group may be placed either into the Swell or into the Choir, depending upon whether the organ is to comprise two or three divisions. In the case of the three-manual organ, we would prefer to see it placed into the Choir division for the following reasons:

1. It will take care of the necessary flutework in the choir, supplying, besides a number of solo combinations, a pair of accompanimental flute voices at 8´ and 4´ pitch, which will be necessary in this division in any case.
2. It will bring the fundamental pitch of the Choir back down to an 8´ level from the 4´ level established by the petite Prinzipal ensemble.
3. It will prevent the Swell from being overloaded in function to the detriment of the Choir.

Flutework in the Swell

Against the Flute Kornett group in the Choir, the Swell will require, at the minimum, two flutes of 8´ and 4´ pitch. Their purpose is twofold. They must help along with the unison and octave Prinzipals to round off the fairly brilliant ensemble of the Swell reed chorus, and they must serve as a pair of accompanimental stops to the various solo combinations made available in the Choir through the Flute Kornett group. In the classical dispositions of Gottfried Silbermann, the Swell flutes consistently incorporated were the 8´Gedackt and the 4´Rohrfloete, while those in the Choir at 8´ and 4´ were the Rohrfloete and Spitzfloete. The practice of placing a covered 8´ flute stop into the Swell has been consistent in the best tradition for centuries. Richter has this to say with regard to the Gedackt and Roehrfloete as accompanimental stops: "So giebt Gedackt acht und Rohrfloete vierfuss einen herrlichen Floetenton, der sich zur Begleitung einer durch Gamba oder Klarinette vorgetragenen Melodie vorzueglich eignet."[10]

Flutework in the Great

The flutes in the Great serve largely one function, namely that of filling out in fundamental tone the Prinzipal chorus. Here both voices ought to be of open pipes, no covered or partly covered flutes being permitted in the case of the three-manual organ. Usually in the best American practice two open wood flutes are here disposed, such as 8´Clarabella and 4´Claribel Flute, or 8´Melodia and 4´Waldfloete, in order to differentiate the Great flutework sharply from that on the subsidiary manuals where covered and partly covered pipes of this class are properly disposed. We feel that the French practice, as evident in the specifications of the great nineteenth century builder, Aristide Cavaille-Coll, has much to recommend it to the general American practice. Cavaille-Coll, after he had developed the class of double-length pipes known as the harmonic registers, seemed to favor the introduction of two open metal flutes of the harmonic class into the Great, specified as 8´Flute Harmonique and 4´Flute Octaviante. There is very much to be said in favor of this disposition, especially when we consider that the Great flutes must work in close harmony with, and as complements to, the Prinzipal chorus. In the first place, open metal pipes, if of generous scale, will give us a clear and free flute tone without any of the thickness and "tubbiness" associated with flutes constructed of wood. Secondly, the superiority of metal over wood in practically all pipes of the organ was already established by the classical builders, and certainly bears some reestablishment in the best modern practice. In support of this statement we should like to quote from Richter.

Although we are not ready to say that in the modern organ all pipes should be of metal, we do not feel that a modest reestablishment of the old principle can eminently well be effected by placing open metal flutes into the Great organ.

A few words as to the deplorable layout of flutework in most of the organs existing in our churches may not be amiss here. One persistent ailment, so frequently met with, is the disposition of a single rank of covered flute pipes in the Swell, all the pitches beyond the unison being derived from the set by a practice known as borrowing, in order to show, on paper at least, the presence of the higher partials. While octave extension may conceivably be resorted to in certain cases and classes of tone in the interest of strictest economy, the wholesale borrowing from a single set of pipes of a complete set of upper partials and mutations in the absence of any independent flutework beyond the unison, must be condemned as incompatible with the most essential principles of the physics of sound in its application to the tonal structure of the pipe organ. The correct functioning of the Flute Kornett group can never be so effected, since this group is predicated upon an 8' basis of covered or partly covered pipes, while all the upper partials represented must be in open pipes preferably of metal. The only octave extension that might be resorted to in the disposition of the Flute Kornett group is to derive a 2´ register from the open 4´ metal flute, without interfering in any material way with the correct and effective functioning of the group for the purposes for which it is intended. Furthermore, if the 8´ and 4´ registers in the group are to serve as accompanimental voices to any solo combinations on the other divisions, a pair of stops are an absolute necessity. If the 4´ register is borrowed from the 8´, we have at our disposal absolutely only one combination suitable for accompaniment. If, however, the 8´ and 4´ are represented in independent ranks of pipes varying in their tone color, we have at once three combinations available, namely 1) 8´Rohrfloete and 4´Spitzfloete, 2) 8´Rohrfloete and super-coupler, and 3) 4´Spitzfloete and sub-coupler.

A minimum but systematic disposition of the flutework in the organ, predicated upon sound physical principles and the requirements of the literature, especially of that in our heritage, would then be subject to the following approach:

Conclusion

The three major classes of tone, Prinzipal, reed, and flute, appear in the well-apportioned church organ in the form of families or choruses, performing certain functions by themselves and others in conjunction with their neighbors. The class of string tone and free organ tone, as well as the various solo stops in the reed family, are not necessarily disposed in family groups, but are added to their basic cores, in order to give the organ a certain additional flexibility and color not achieved by the major families. It would be going beyond the scope of this discussion to include a dissertation on the principles, both physical and artistic, underlying their proper incorporation. Such a discussion must await a possible future date.

The adequate Lutheran church organ of today, in order to cope effectively with the literature now so rapidly being made available by American publishers, and so enthusiastically received by our musicians, will need to present certain aspects of stop-apportionment, based upon sound principles of physics and a clear understanding of the tonal requirements met with in the literature, but not apparent in the instruments that have been installed in our churches for decades. Unless a vigorous change for the better in our general concepts of what constitutes an adequate instrument takes place, we are willing to say that the restoration of this meaningful music will meet with little success. On the other hand, if those who are entrusted with the supervision of constructing a church organ, exercise the utmost care, and base their deliberations upon a substantial understanding of the true function of the organ as a whole and in its parts, and upon the best practice of the classical builders, we venture to predict that a new period of vital and effective church music will find its way into our practice.

If we have hereby been privileged to contribute a single mite to this eventuality, we are grateful.

Cited References and Notes

1 The term "Prinzipal" will hereafter be used to designate all pipes of "Open Diapason" tone. The Diapason chorus will be termed "Prinzipal chorus" and its components as follows: 8´ Open Diapason—8´ Prinzipal; 4´ Octave—4´ Octave; 2 2/3´ Quint—2 2/3´ Twelfth; 2´ Superoctave—2´ Fifteenth; etc. We should like to urge, as much as possible, a correct and meaningful stop nomenclature to replace the somewhat haphazard and faulty designations now generally in use.
2 i.e., all those above the prime tone; in an 8´ series they would comprise 4´, 2 2/3´, 2´, 1 3/5´, etc.
3 E. F. Richter, Katechismus der Orgel (Leipzig, J. J. Weber, 1896), p. 72.
4 Richter, op. cit., pp. 127–128.
5 Stainton de B. Taylor, The Chorale Preludes of J. S. Bach, (London, Oxford University Press, 1942) p.29.
6 Richter, op. cit., p. 125.
7 Ibid.
8 As quoted in A. Riemenschneider, The Liturgical Year (Boston, Oliver Ditson, 1933) p. iii.
9 In the interest of economy we can see no valid objection to deriving the 5 1/3´ Twelfth by augmentation from a stop of free organ tone, such as a Gemshorn of fairly good scale. In fact, we have adopted this expedient with marked success in the instrument in our church.
10 Richter, op. cit., p. 223.
11 Richter, op.cit., p. 25

From The Musical Heritage of the Church, Volume III (Valparaiso, Ind.: Valparaiso University, 1946). Reprinted by permission of Valparaiso University.

For personal use only.