THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE PIPES.
Number of the 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.
The usual number of pipes in each tower is in England three, in France
five, and in Germany seven (in the Tyrol, flat towers with seven pipes
are the rule); but to these numbers there are many exceptions. Towers
with two stories of pipes are in use in Holland, Belgium, and Germany,
but I cannot call to mind any in England or in France. In general the
number of pipes in the upper story exceeds that of the lower. A single
pipe either forming a compartment, or projecting so as to form a tower,
is not a good feature, except when, as in some of the North German
organs, a thirty-two feet pipe is used as a tower. In some flat towers,
four pipes are inserted instead of five; but an uneven number, I think,
is more satisfactory to the eye. It does not look well for all the
pipes in a compartment to be of the same height, and it is still worse
when all the flats are alike: for this reason the organ in Exeter Hall
is ugly, and good as the case is in Rouen Cathedral, it would be much
improved if some gradation in the pipe lengths were introduced into its
four similar compartments.
In the flats, two tiers of pipes are common in English and Dutch
organs, and in Holland more often appear in large cases. Oval and
circular openings for pipes are used in England, and more rarely in
France: it is an artificial mode of arranging pipe work. There are a
few examples of pipes being arranged to form a perspective, which may
be looked upon as a fanciful conceit. Panels carved to give the same
effect are not quite so _outré_. In Holland and North Germany, inverted
pipes are to be met with: they in general stand on the wood framing,
but at Perpignan (France) there is a flat of inverted pipes which hang
from the case by their feet. I fancy that in general these are shams,
but an inverted pipe would not be liable to be choked with dust. In
Dutch fronts occasionally double pipes, or what may be more correctly
styled two pipes with their feet joined together, are used: those that
I have seen were dummies, as no means of supplying them with wind was
to be seen. Projecting mouths are a great finish to large pipes. French
builders are often very good at this work; but it may be overdone, as
in the new organ in Chester Cathedral, where the mouths are certainly
exaggerated. Old French builders sometimes inserted a few pipes with
various fancy mouldings about them, brightened with paint. The organ of
Gonesse has some, and two are preserved as curiosities in the Museum at
Beauvais. Pipes with their surface hammered into facets are rare. At
Hertogenbosch, the centre pipes of the towers are so treated, and are
also plain gilt; but that in the central tower is parcel gilt. Belgian
and Dutch organs often have the mouths of their bright tin pipes gilt,
which has a good effect. I have no great liking for diapered (painted
or illuminated) pipes, even if it has taken a fortnight to paint each,
as has lately been done; it gives the idea that it is necessary to
hide bad workmanship, or poor metal. Coronals to the pipes, however
elaborate, had best be eschewed, although in caseless organs they
give a sort of finish to the pipes. But after all I have said against
painted pipes, one cannot help liking the bright appearance of a small
case, with well-coloured pipes, even if one doubts how it will look
after a few years, when the freshness has departed. Plain gilding
perhaps looks well longer than anything else. Tin pipes, when dull,
have a very neglected look; and nothing can look worse than bronzed
pipes. In Spain, it is the custom to place the Reed Stops so that their
tubes project horizontally, or at an angle from the case: this throws
out their sound.[A] This arrangement is not common in England, but
might be adopted with good effect both for tone and appearance. The
Tuba at York, projecting from the west façade of the organ, is most
satisfactory in both respects; any arranging of trumpets, like a fan or
half-circle at the top of the case, is as well avoided.
[A] At Leeds, the pipes of the solo portion of the Town-hall
Organ are entirely placed horizontally, and it is stated
that this increases their power from 20 to 30 per cent.