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About the Organ
"The PEDAL Organ"
Part 5 in the series about ELPC’s
Aeolian-Skinner Pipe Organ.
by the Rev. Dr. J. Richard Szeremany,
Worship Music & The Arts Director
When you think of the sounds of the
pedals on the organ, what words first comes to your mind? Something like
“thump, thump” or “boom, boom” or maybe heavy, dull, ponderous, a drone?
Well, there are some organs that do make sounds that might be described
with such adjectives. And there are some people who play the pedals of
the organ in a manner that might fit those descriptive words. But the
PEDAL ORGAN or DIVISION is by itself designed to be an independent
division of the instrument, just as are the several manual/keyboard
divisions (see previous 4
articles).
It is true that during certain periods
of organ building—particularly in 20th-century American organ
building—the Pedal Organ was not much more than a collection of a few
ranks of heavy-toned pipes that did thump and bump and boom and drone.
But we have come a long way from that period of organ building
recognizing that music written for the organ carries an independent line
to be played by the feet.
If you compare a page of piano music to
a page of organ music, the most apparent difference is that there is an
additional line or staff of music for the organ: a part for the right
hand (the treble or “G” clef); a part for the left hand (the bass or “F”
clef) and below the bass clef another bass or “F” clef on which is
written the part of the composition to be played by the organist’s
feet—both of them, not just the left foot! Having three clefs means that
the player’s eye must take in a wider or deeper expanse of written
material which differs from a piano score.
On each of the organ keyboards there
are 61 keys. On the pedal board, there are 32 keys arranged exactly like
the manual keyboards, but in larger proportions to accommodate the
difference in size between a finger and a foot. Looking down from the
organ bench you see groups of three black pedals and groups of two black
pedals spaced among the white pedals (just like the organ or piano
keyboard.) And all 32 pedals are played at a variety of pitches in
performing organ compositions.
But wait a minute! Did I say the pedals
are played at a variety of pitches? Yes they are: all the way from the
16 cycle sounds of the 32-foot Sub Bourdon or 32-foot Bombard to the
almost inaudible (to some ears) sounds of the 1-foot Siffloete which on
high G of the pedal board measures just 2 inches in length. Yes, looking
at the variety of sounds represented among the Pedal Organ’s voices you
will find all four categories of organ tone (Diapasons or Principals,
flutes, strings and reeds) and these will be represented—in the ELPC
instrument at pitches of 32’, 16’, 10 2/3’, 8, 5 1/3’, 4’, 2 2/3’, 2’
and contained in the Mixture or compound-sounding stops there are ranks
of 1 1/3’ and 1’.
It is the presence of this variety of
sounds (tonal palette) at this variety of pitches that reaches the
listening ear as a composite—a whole—a veritable painting in sound.
Having such a variety of beautiful sounds available is much like having
a variety of ingredients at your fingertips when you set out to bake a
special dessert or to prepare a wonderful meal for your family. You need
each ingredient to incorporate into the whole to present to your family
or guests a delectable meal. So it is with the PEDAL ORGAN: it must
contain a number of tonal ingredients equal to the total of all the
tonal ingredients present in all the other manual divisions of the
organ.
For it is the PEDAL ORGAN which must
balance and support in like measure those parts of a composition written
to be played by the hands. Whether the pedals are called upon to
accompany or to carry the melody, to play at low pitches or to play at
the very highest of pitches available in organ pipes, those sounds,
those tones and those ingredients must be available for the performer’s
selection. And these we have—and will have in refurbished condition—when
our beloved Aeolian-Skinner makes its return journey from the Goulding
and Wood Organ Company in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Next article in the
series -- Part 6: "The Organ CONSOLE"
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