Transcriber’s Notes: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_.
Superscripts are preceded by a ^ symbol; when the superscripts are more
than one character in length, they also are enclosed in curly brackets,
e.g., S^{T.}.
Additional notes will be found near the end of this ebook.
THE BOX OF WHISTLES.
[Illustration:
Cooper & Hodson Lith. 13^2 Red Lion Sq. W.C.
S^{T.} PAULS CATHEDRAL LONDON.
OLD ORGAN.]
[Illustration]
THE
BOX OF WHISTLES
AN ILLUSTRATED BOOK ON ORGAN CASES:
WITH
Notes on Organs at Home and Abroad.
BY
JOHN NORBURY.
[Illustration]
LONDON:
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., 8, 9, 10, BOUVERIE STREET, E.C.
1877.
[_All Rights reserved._]
LONDON:
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS
PREFACE.
In publishing this work, it is not my wish or intention to attempt to
teach the Player how to use, the Maker how to build, or the Architect
how to encase, the second instrument mentioned in the Bible, but to put
before the descendants of Jubal that which may incite them to continue
to improve the noble instrument, which the combined efforts of taste,
science, and skill, have brought to its present degree of excellence.
JOHN NORBURY.
32, GORDON SQUARE, LONDON,
_April, 1877_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
THE BOX OF WHISTLES 1
Introductory.
CHAPTER II.
THE ORGAN CASE 2
Division into Four Classes.--Subdivisions of ditto.
CHAPTER III.
WHAT A GOOD CASE SHOULD BE 4
Style not necessarily Gothic.--Renaissance Style.--Tin
Pipes now seldom used.--An Organ Case need not correspond
with the Style of Architecture of the Building.--English
Cases during the last Hundred Years.--An Organ Case
should be good.--Unequal Number of Towers.--Ponts.--Oak
and other Woods.--Culs-de-Lampe.--Ornaments.--Arrangement
of Pipes.--Arrangement of Towers.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE PIPES 7
Number of Pipes.--Not all of the Same Height.--Two Tiers
of Pipes.--Oval and Circular Openings.--Pipes arranged in
Perspective.--Carved Panels.--Inverted Pipes.--Double
Pipes.--Projecting Mouths.--Fancy Mouldings on Pipes.--
Pipes, gilt--diapered--painted--tin--bronzed.--Tubes of
Reed Stops projecting horizontally.--Tuba at York.
CHAPTER V.
THE CHOIR ORGAN AS A SEPARATE CASE 8
As a Screen to the Player.--Choir Front in the Lower Part
of Case.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MINOR DETAILS OF AN ORGAN 9
Room in the Loft.--Loft should not be used as a Singing
Gallery.--Reversed Key-boards.--Black Keys for Naturals,
&c.--Rows of Stops, perpendicular, horizontal.--Varied
Forms of Pedals.--Music Desk.--Lights.--Looking
Glass.--Clock.--Carving between the Pipes.--Fox-tail
Stop.--Electric and Pneumatic Actions.
NOTES ON ORGANS AT HOME AND ABROAD.
NOTES ON ENGLISH ORGANS 10
NOTES ON FRENCH ORGANS 12
NOTES ON BELGIAN ORGANS 18
NOTES ON DUTCH ORGANS 22
NOTES ON GERMAN ORGANS 25
NOTES ON SWISS ORGANS 28
NOTES ON ITALIAN ORGANS 30
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGES
ST. PAUL’S, LONDON. A fine Case by Grinling Gibbons, the
design is exceptional for one of Father Smith’s
instruments _Frontispiece_.
ST. LAWRENCE, JEWRY, LONDON. One of Harris’s Organs, of
nearly perfect design, according to the old French rules.
Since I sketched this Organ, it has been rebuilt, and the
Case much enlarged in the same style 10–11
ST. MAGNUS THE MARTYR, LONDON BRIDGE. A good Case of
peculiar design. This instrument is remarkable as one of
the earliest that had a Swell Organ introduced 10–11
ST. SEPULCHRE’S, LONDON. A fine Case in Harris’s style 10–11
ST. WOLFRAM, ABBEVILLE. A good specimen of a French
Renaissance Organ Case 12–17
ST. ETIENNE, BEAUVAIS. A nice French-designed Organ Case 12–17
THE CATHEDRAL, RHEIMS. A grand Organ Case in the French style 12–17
THE CATHEDRAL, ROUEN. A very large fine Organ Case. The
four similar flats in the Great Organ are a blemish 12–17
ST. MACLOU, ROUEN. A very pretty French Organ 12–17
ST. OUEN, ROUEN. An elaborate Organ in the French style 12–17
THE CATHEDRAL, TROYES. An excellent example of a French
Organ in a western gallery 12–17
THE CATHEDRAL, ANTWERP. A fine elaborate Case 18–21
ST. PAUL’S, ANTWERP. A fine Case, the carved work of
which is perhaps the best in Belgium 18–21
ST. BAVON, GHENT. A well designed and well carved Case
18–21
OUDE KERK, AMSTERDAM. A fine Case, of a thoroughly Dutch
pattern 22–24
ST. JOHN’S, GOUDA. A quaint Dutch Case 22–24
ST. BAVON, HAARLEM. A very fine Case, the effect of which
is damaged by being painted 22–24
ST. JANS KERK, HERTOGENBOSCH. Said to be one of the finest
Cases in Europe 22–24
ST. LAWRENCE, ROTTERDAM. A very fine Dutch Case, in a
sober style 22–24
THE CATHEDRAL, FREIBURG-IM-BRESGAU. A good example of a
hanging Organ 25–27
INDEX TO NOTES ON ORGANS.
_Abbeville_--
St. Sepulchre’s, 12;
St. Wolfram, 12.
_Amiens_--
The Cathedral, 12;
St. ----, 12.
_Amsterdam_--
Nieuwe Kerk, 22;
Oude Kerk, 22.
_Antwerp_--
The Cathedral, 18;
English Church, 18;
St. George, 19;
St. Jacques, 19;
St. Paul (Dominicans), 19.
_Bayeux_--
The Cathedral, 12.
_Beauvais_--
The Cathedral, 13;
St. Etienne, 13.
_Bellaggio_--
Private Chapel of Villa Melzi, 30.
_Berne_--
The Cathedral, 28.
_Bois-le-Duc_--See _Hertogenbosch_.
_Boulogne_--
The Cathedral, 13.
_Bruges_--
The Cathedral, 19;
St. Anne, 20;
St. Jacques, 20;
St. Jean (Hospital), 20;
Notre Dame, 20;
Convent des Sœurs de Charité, 20.
_Brussels_--
Ste. Gudule, 20;
Notre Dame des Victoires, 20.
_Caen_--
St. Etienne, 13;
St. Jean, 13;
St. Pierre, 13;
St. Trinité, 13.
_Chester_--
The Cathedral, 11.
_Chiavenna_--
San Lorenzo, 30.
_Coblentz_--
St. Castor, 25.
_Coire_--
The Dom (St. Lucius), 28.
_Cologne_--
The Cathedral, 25;
Minorites, 25.
_Como_--
The Cathedral, 30.
_Coutances_--
The Cathedral, 14;
St. Nicolas, 14;
St. Pierre, 14.
_Delft_--
Nieuwe Kerk, 22;
Oude Kerk, 22.
_Dieppe_--
St. Jacques, 14;
St. Rémi, 14.
_Dijon_--
The Cathedral, 14.
_Durham_--
The Cathedral, 11.
_Frankfort_--
The Cathedral, 26.
_Freiburg, Switzerland_--
St. Nicolas, 28.
_Freiburg-im-Bresgau_--
The Cathedral, 26;
St. ----, 26.
_Geneva_--
The Cathedral, 28;
English Church, 29.
_Ghent_ (_Gand_)--
The Cathedral (St. Bavon), 20;
Béguinage, 21;
English Church, 21;
St. Jacques, 21;
St. Michael, 21;
St. Nicolas, 21.
_Gouda_--
Janskerk (St. John’s), 22.
_Haarlem_--
Grootekerk (St. Bavon), 23.
_Hertogenbosch_ (_Bois-le-Duc_)--
St. Janskirk, 23.
_Innsbruck_--
Hof-kirche, 27;
Jesuits’ Church, 27.
_Isola Bella_--
Parish Church, 30.
_Laon_--
The Cathedral, 14.
_Liége_--
St. Jacques, 21.
_Lisieux_--
St. Pierre (formerly the Cathedral), 14;
St. Jacques, 14.
_London_--
St. Paul’s Cathedral, 10;
All Hallows, Lombard Street, 10;
Christchurch, Newgate Street, 10;
St. Clement’s, Eastcheap, 10;
St. Lawrence, Jewry, 10;
St. Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, 11;
St. Olave’s, Southwark, 11;
St. Sepulchre’s, 11.
_Louvain_--
St. Pierre, 21.
_Lucerne_--
Hof-kirche (St. Leger), 29;
English Church, 30.
_Lyons_--
The Cathedral, 14.
_Madonna di Tirano_--
Il Santuario, 31.
_Magdeburg_--
The Cathedral, 27.
_Malines_--
The Cathedral, 21;
St. Jean, 22;
Notre Dame, 22.
_Mayence_--
The Cathedral, 27.
_Mechlin_ (_Malines_).
_Milan_--
The Cathedral, 31;
San Ambrogio, 31;
San Giovanni in Lateran, 31;
San Lorenzo, 31;
Santa Maria delle Grazie, 31;
Santa Maria Pudone, 32;
San ----, in the Via di Giadini, 32.
_Munich_--
Jesuits’ Church, 27.
_Paris_--
Notre Dame, 15;
St. Eustache, 15.
_Prague_--
The Cathedral, 27;
Monastery of Strahow, 27.
_Rheims_--
The Cathedral, 15;
St. André, 15;
St. Rémi, 15.
_Rotterdam_--
Groote Kerk (St. Lawrence), 24.
_Rouen_--
The Cathedral, 15;
Canteleu, 16;
St. Georges de Boscherville, 16;
St. Maclou, 16;
Notre Dame de Bon Secours, 16;
St. Ouen, 16;
St. Sever, 16;
St. Vincent, 17;
St. Vivien, 17.
_St. Bernard_--
Hospice, 29.
_St. Lo_--
The Cathedral (formerly), 17;
St. Croix, 17.
_St. Ricquier_--
The Abbey Church, 17.
_Schwarz_--
Pfarrkirche, 27.
_Strasburg_--
The Cathedral, 17.
_Troyes_--
The Cathedral, 17;
St. Jean, 18;
St. Nizier, 18;
St. Rémi, 18.
_Utrecht_--
The Cathedral, 24;
St. Nicolas, 25.
_York_--
Minster, 11.
THE BOX OF WHISTLES.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
The Box of Whistles! what a quaint title! Yes, but a good one, I think,
for this book, as the old organ of Father Smith’s in St. Paul’s,
“The Box of Whistles,” as Sir Christopher Wren contemptuously called
it, was the first organ I ever saw, and which gave me my bent in the
liking of things pertaining to the organ. Well do I recollect standing,
a very small boy, under the Dome of St. Paul’s, on a dark winter’s
afternoon, looking at Grinling Gibbons’ noble case, hearing some grand
out-going voluntary, and trying to see the angels put their trumpets
to their mouths, when the reeds were drawn, which I could never catch
them doing. Now the organ is perhaps the only instrument which gives
equal gratification to three separate classes of individuals, who are
often very different in other respects, the Musician, the Mechanician,
and the Architect. The Musician likes it for its tone and power,
giving sounds which no other instrument can give, and imitating the
tones of almost every other instrument. The Mechanician likes it as a
complicated machine; and the different modes of its action, and the
varied ways of supplying it with wind, are sources of pleasure and
amusement to him. The Architect admires its noble look, as it stands
towering high in Cathedral, Church, or Concert Room, its case covered
with carved work, and its pipes bright with gilding, be its style
Gothic or Renaissance. Remember that an organ is built, other musical
instruments are made. The Musician very likely cares not for its look,
so long as the tone pleases him, and possibly knows little, and cares
less, how the sound is produced. The Mechanician is pleased to know
how and why certain tones and effects are obtained, caring perhaps
very little for real music, and as for the case, he never gives it a
thought. The Architect may have but small knowledge of music; as for
the mechanical part of the instrument, it is not in the least in his
line; but he does feel the impress of its grandeur, and admires the
complex design of a large and well-built organ case. I am no player,
but I much like the sound of an organ, and to hear good music played on
it.
Of mechanics I have some knowledge, but it is in general difficult to
get a sight of the internal works of an organ. They are well described
in Hopkins’s work, “The Organ,” 1870, and the “Encyclopédie Roret,”
1849, which, in its valuable reprint of Dom Bedos, “L’Art du Facteur
des Orgues,” gives excellent details and good engravings. To me it
seems a pity that this work has not been translated into English, and
brought down to the present time, as technical terms in a foreign
language are difficult even to good linguists. To the organ builder,
it is a more useful work than that of Mr. Hopkins, as the French book
is for the practical man, while the English work is for the general
reader. I am not an architect, but in my leisure hours architecture and
drawing have been my amusements. For some years I have sketched and
taken notes of the different organs which I have had the good fortune
to see either at home or abroad, and I now venture to publish (a small
quota to general knowledge) my notes and drawings of organs, the
collecting of which has been my recreation for many an hour. I think
that the ground on which I now venture has not as yet been occupied by
any one.
Mr. Hopkins gives but general information about organ cases, and no
engravings. The “Encyclopédie Roret” gives more particulars, and also
furnishes a few engravings, and the English edition of “Seidel’s
Treatise on the Organ” is very cursory on this subject. Further
information can be gleaned from the Rev. F. H. Sutton’s “Short Account
of Organs Built in England,” &c., 1847, which gives small woodcuts
of the typical cases of the old English builders, and at the end of
the work, five designs of the late Mr. Pugin are given, which are
worth studying; and from “Some Account of the Mediæval Organ Case,”
&c., 1866, and “Church Organs,” 1872, by the Rev. F. H. Sutton, both
of which are very good for reference. Mr. Faulkner’s “Designs for
Organs,” 1838, is now rather out of date, but C. K. K. Bishop’s “Notes
on Church Organs” gives nice suggestive plates. If the very fine and
exhaustive work on “Foreign Gothic Organs,” mentioned by the Rev. Mr.
Sutton in his “Mediæval Organ Case,” 1866, should ever see light, it
would be first-class, as it would contain drawings and details of the
best Gothic organs, which are rare, and of which it is difficult to
obtain drawings or descriptions. There are many small works which give
drawings, &c., to which I do not more particularly refer, out of which
useful information may be gleaned.
What I wish to put before my readers in this book, is a short
description of the different classes of organ cases, with my remarks
and notes of various instruments, illustrated by lithographs and
chromo-lithographs, from my own sketches. Having now explained my
intention, I have to beg those who read this, my first work, not to be
very severe on my errors and shortcomings.