hughesmr Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Organ buff here for 40 years, I professionally record them, studied their history, construction practices and literature, own >800 organ CDs, 4 organ study tours to France, and married a professional concert organist. That said, there are some laughable comments here on what constitutes a great pipe organ. There are many aesthetic models of organ tonal design and disposition, many rooted in nationalistic and period origins. The room in which an organ resides is its most important acoustical feature. Much organ literature was written with specific aesthetic models in mind, and a lot of it cannot be really effective played on instruments of different periods. (That said, there are elcectic organ tonal designs, based on compromises of other more unified designs.) For French late 19th-early 20th century lit, you're looking at something like this as a tonal model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVLU72d1_10 Bigger does not mean better: rather, is the pipework appropriately scaled to the room it is in? Does the tonal design have the necessary stops to produce the harmonics to create clear textures? The St Ouen organ in the clip above is widely hailed as one of the finest instruments in the world, and is only 64 stops -- VERY modest for a room of the size in which it resides. Organs like Crystal Cathedral are NOT among the finest organs in the world. Maybe among the organs with the most publicity, but no, not good. That organ was always fraught with problems, not the least of which was its unbearably loud harsh palette. After only 40 or so years, it has already had to be removed and completely rebuilt in Italy by Ruffati (kind of the Dynasty horn of organ builders). But hey, it was on TV, so it must be good, right? Digital organs are just that ... digital imitations. Even the best ones are purely samples from fine pipe organs. And even then, they still require lots of clean amplification and MANY high quality speakers spatially placed in a sympathetic acoustic to even start to sound 'convincing'. Sorry, that ain't gonna happen in drum corps. Edited June 13, 2015 by hughesmr 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 So, there is technology available. It boils down to computer chips and a good speaker system. I'd be willing to bet that if they looked very hard it might be provided. They just need to find an organ donor. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) . Edited June 13, 2015 by Lincoln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 They just need to find an organ donor. I'd be satisfied with closing this thread, because short of Regiment winning a title, everything written hereafter will pale in comparison to this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 And maybe you should explore a bit of you tube as well. There are digital organs that produce quadruple the sound of the largest Casavant (and as far as pipe organs go, a Casavant can't hold a candle to a Ruffatti.) And with exacting duplication of the best pipe organs. Digital organs can now produce the effect of a mechanical, or tracker, action of pipe organs which are far more desirable than electrical action organs. And what does old and Cathedral have to do with anything. Many of the largest and finest organs are not even in Cathedrals. Sorry - I'm not a "organ expert" - geez. And I guess as someone who has visited many Cathedrals that was my biggest exposure to elaborate pipe organs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seen-it-all Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabe211 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Ahh. I can't wait to see this show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachariaswmb Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pes49 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Organ buff here for 40 years, I professionally record them, studied their history, construction practices and literature, own >800 organ CDs, 4 organ study tours to France, and married a professional concert organist. That said, there are some laughable comments here on what constitutes a great pipe organ. There are many aesthetic models of organ tonal design and disposition, many rooted in nationalistic and period origins. The room in which an organ resides is its most important acoustical feature. Much organ literature was written with specific aesthetic models in mind, and a lot of it cannot be really effective played on instruments of different periods. (That said, there are elcectic organ tonal designs, based on compromises of other more unified designs.) For French late 19th-early 20th century lit, you're looking at something like this as a tonal model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVLU72d1_10 Bigger does not mean better: rather, is the pipework appropriately scaled to the room it is in? Does the tonal design have the necessary stops to produce the harmonics to create clear textures? The St Ouen organ in the clip above is widely hailed as one of the finest instruments in the world, and is only 64 stops -- VERY modest for a room of the size in which it resides. Organs like Crystal Cathedral are NOT among the finest organs in the world. Maybe among the organs with the most publicity, but no, not good. That organ was always fraught with problems, not the least of which was its unbearably loud harsh palette. After only 40 or so years, it has already had to be removed and completely rebuilt in Italy by Ruffati (kind of the Dynasty horn of organ builders). But hey, it was on TV, so it must be good, right? Digital organs are just that ... digital imitations. Even the best ones are purely samples from fine pipe organs. And even then, they still require lots of clean amplification and MANY high quality speakers spatially placed in a sympathetic acoustic to even start to sound 'convincing'. Sorry, that ain't gonna happen in drum corps. First of all i totally disagree with you about the CC organ. Of course there is nothing more arguable than which style of organ is more desirable. Yes the Ruffatti had some issues, most of which have been corrected. Not to taunt my credentials, but I studied organ performance for 5 years with a renowned German teacher and have played many of the best organs in Europe. I also studied construction under him, as he was one of the most sought after organ designers of his day. His specialty was definitely organs of the Baroque period, but he designed many Romantic style organs as well. And in his later days, he consulted with many digital organ manufacturers. Call them what you may, but some are very good. Most organ buffs are some of the biggest snobs on earth god knows I've met my share of them. I am well aware of how a good instrument is designed for the room in which it will be installed and are are tempered to suit that space and it's acoustics. I didn't go much into all that as most people who don't have in-depth knowledge of the instrument don't understand all goes into the making of a great instrument. Yes indeed, there is nothing more wonderful than sitting before a living/breathing organ in a room with great acoustics, but the ongoing development of the digital instrument, they definitely have their place. And certainly on the football field. Oh yeah, and I would certainly argue as to whether the St. Quen instrument is one of the best in the world. It might considered on of the best French organs. I personally don't happen to like that style instrument. And I will certainly argue that the Ruffatti, when in its best condition, is a much more versital instrument. Edited June 13, 2015 by Pes49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pes49 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Sorry guys, but I had to respond to hughsmr. But I'll not dwell on it anymore. Subject closed as far as I'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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