Margo, the more modern organs in my region, even sopme that are only a few
ranks, generally have a swell with a chorus reed and the full swell will
just about match the great. Even on the 6 rks ext. instrument that I play,
on full organ with the box shut the swell is barely heard but when I open
the swell box the swell comes up behind the great with a full throated
roar!!! Great!
The older organs, often by English builders of the 19th C., the swell reed
was usually an Oboe. Not nearly as effective as Cornopean or Trumpet.
BE.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Margo Dillard" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 9:02 PM
Subject: does a small church need a bigger organ
> Here is an issue I wonder about every time I play a particular pipe
> organ - not my own - in a church that shall remain nameless for the
> purposes of this.
>
> Take a small church with a small budget (as pipe organ purchases go).
> They buy the proverbial 2 manual, c.20 rank instrument. And I'm not
> sure why the balance in the organ is as it is, but I have one idea of
> what might have been the problem. Church probably seats 150-200. For
> worship, they tend to fill the place and the congregation sings quite
> "lustily" on the hymns. Ergo, the great division is unenclosed and
> quite LOUD, in order to support them. However, as is so often the case
> these days, the choir is not particularly large - so the swell division
> is under expression and hiding way back in the walls and quite soft.
> Which leaves one with one quite small choice of stops for playing loud
> and one quite small choice of stops to accompany the choir. Playing
> things with melody contrasted by accomp is very limited because only 2
> stops (used alone) on the great are soft enough to use with the swell
> accompanying, and you can't use anything on the swell as a solo stop
> (except the big reeds) because everything on the great will drown it
> out, unless you keep the swell box open the whole time. With some
> tricks with couplers and such the organ works fine for playing loud
> (the louder the better), but it is difficult to get any variety in soft
> sounds. And you simply cannot accompany the choir with any principals
> at all, and you can only use the great with the choir if they are
> really loud, and then only the flutes.
>
> Which causes me to ask: is this perhaps an indication of a need for
> bigger organs than might ordinarily be designed. I know of many cases
> of churches with quite large rooms, large congregations, but small
> choirs. Surely the answer is not to have to mike the choir to balance
> the organ. And it does get quite boring to play all the choir music on
> the same, single stop. So, doesn't that mean you need more organ -
> more soft sounds on more than one manual under expression (hence the
> need for 3), and instead of such loud individual stops - more of them
> so they can be combined when you need to be loud - but you can still
> use them when you need to be soft.....?
>
> My church situation is similar. It is actually a rather large church -
> almost 2000 members. At the 11:00 service in particular, the
> congregation practically blows me off the bench - but 8:30 is about
> half as big and about half as loud. The choir on the other hand tops
> out at 25-30 when they are all present, and on a typical Sunday, there
> are about 10-12 at each service. Presently, I am "blessed" with an
> all digital organ - so I can just run the "volume pedals" up and down
> as needed. But I keep hoping that we will find enough money under a
> rock somewhere for a pipe organ - and when that happens, it needs to
> serve both functions - choir and congregation - logically, it seems to
> me, I need a bigger organ, because it is almost like 2 organs in
> one..... It's not what any of the "official" organ design books say,
> but it seems to me it is the reality many of us face today, at least in
> the American Protestant church. A pipe is a pipe and if it is loud its
> loud and if its soft its soft and if I need both, then I need 2 pipes,
> right? Or am I crazy?
>
> Margo
>
> Dr. Margo Dillard
> Organist, First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
> Accompanist, Musical Feast Choral Society
> Dillard Piano and Organ Studio
>
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Note: opinions expressed on PIPORG-L are those of the individual con-
tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
versity at Albany. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
[log in to unmask] saying GET LSVCMMDS.TXT or see the web
page at http://www.albany.edu/piporg-l/lsvcmmds.html .
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