| Tour of the Organ |
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On April 30, 2000, the organ was re-dedicated to the Glory of God. The organ which was originally installed in 1925, has now been restored to the original settings and new modern technologies have been added to enhance the magnificent sounds. Stay "tuned" as we gather the "ranks" and "key" up for a tour of this work of art in the coming months. |
| FIRST STOP ON THE TOUR OF THE ORGAN! |
It would be hard for our ancestors to imagine that pipes, blowers and belts are essential to making the beautiful tones that are emitted each service from the pipe organ.Time was when young lads of the congregation took turns manning sets of bellows behind the organ to produce enough air required to flow through the various pipes and tubes that are unseen to the attendants of services. Around 1994, a group from St. Paul's was fortunate to be invited to a private home where the first organ, originally installed in 1905, is now being housed and in excellent working condition. We were amazed to note that boys will be boys in any era. The back of it bears the signature of a few unknown artists! |
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The Next Stop on the Organ Tour |
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The Organ and its specifications |
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| An organist is like an artist painting a picture. The
painter blends the different colours, while the organist
blends the different tones. Organ tones are made up of
Diapasons, Flutes, Strings and Reeds, called families.
From the families of tone colours, the organist builds
his combinations as the artist builds his picture from
combinations of colours. Each stop is different in tone
from another stop. In building up the Tone -colour of an organ, care must be taken to preserve a perfect balance , so that when the Full Organ is used, we have a Grand Organ of full power and tone, not hard, but majestic and pleasing to the ear. Shown below, are some of the "pipes". Note the different types of materials used.
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The final installment of the "Organ Tour" Putting it all together! We have shown you various parts of the organ, and now will try to explain just how it works. Rows of pipes are put together in a box arrangement. Each row of pipes is called a "Rank" and share the same qualities, or similar characteristics. The box is called a "Windchest" The box needs to be supplied with an even stream of wind. Before electricity, bellows would have to be hand manipulated, but now are driven by fans. Sliders are the things which control the various ranks, in order for them to not all sound at the same time. The sliders have holes in them that correspond to the pipes which they are placed under, and so when the slider is in the pushed-in position, the sound is stopped., and that is where the name "Stop" comes from. Attached to all of these, by complicated explanations, are the keyboards. Some organs will have two manuals for the hands and one for the feet which is called the Pedal Organ. The hand manuals consist of "The Great" which has the most commanding stops. "The Swell", is actually a box which allows a pedal to mechanically produce the difference between loud and soft expressions. "The Choir" usually has very sweet sounds while "The Solo" has sounds which do not readily blend together with the other orchestral sounds. Naturally, it would be used for mostly solo works. One more manual is available in very large organs and it is called "The Echo". From its very name, you conjure up a very distant sound, and that is what it is. Now, when you put it all together, the organist will sit at the organ, and the ranks, beginning at the top will be as follows: The Echo, the Swell, the Great, the Choir, and the Foot. We hope this will help you to understand the workings of a pipe organ the next time you listen one. |
