Klarinet Archive - Posting 001365.txt from 2004/03

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] To Lelia Loban.... I think
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 08:07:49 -0500

Ormondtoby Montoya wrote,
>>Is 28 ranks, 2000+ pipes, and a 25 hp turbine blowing
>>into a 22" main 'duct' truly special as far as organs are
>>concerned?

That depends on what you mean by "special." In terms of size, no. A lot
of the better-quality organs in concert halls and large churches are in the
range of 3,000 to 7,000 pipes. 10,000 pipes (the approximate size of the
Aeolian-Skinner in the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. and the
slightly larger A-S in the Mormon Tabernacle in Utah) is considered large.
For comparison, the gargantua of the species, a 1932 Midmer-Losch pipe
organ in the Atlantic City Convention Hall in New Jersey, USA, has 33,112
pipes on 1439 stops and 455 ranks, in 22 divisions, with seven manuals
(keyboards). The largest rank, a 64' Diaphone Profunda (the lowest pipe
plays CCCCC), is voiced on 100" of wind. That's an extremely abnormal
instrument, currently being restored. At no time have all parts of it ever
been in working order simultaneously.

By contrast, what you're describing is a normal-sized organ for a church or
an average-sized municipal concert hall. It might sound "special" in the
sense of splendid, depending on who made it, whether or not it was
originally built or carefully adapted for the space it now occupies (the
building is, in effect, a part of the instrument) and how well it's been
maintained. At the other extreme, if it's a bad instrument, it might be
"special" in the sense that it sounds like a pack of hyenas!

Lelia Loban
E-mail: lelialoban@-----.net
Web site (original music scores as audio or print-out):
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban

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