The OrganNet Today: A Tangled World-Wide-Web We Weave

by Herbert L. Huestis

It seems like eons have passed since personal computers appeared in our lives--but it has only been a little over a decade since I bought my first grey box with a green phosphor screen--a 1984 Kaypro. It was built like a truck, was a great word processor, made no fan noise, and the cursor did not blink. Unfortunately, this super typewriter was considered obsolete in three years, and I replaced it with a "PC" with a fan so loud I thought it was going to take off. Nowadays, when I acquire a computer, I kill the blinking cursor and fuss with the fan to make it as quiet as the old Kaypro. So much for "keeping up!"

Today, the Internet challenges us as much as those first computers did. Kenneth Matthews writes to Piporg-L from San Francisco:

All right. If someone will explain to me, I promise to pay attention this time. I can't figure out (or remember) where Osiris actually is . . .

--Kenneth (spinning my wheels in cyberspace) Matthews

Ken's problem is not unique on the Internet. There are thousands of offerings, but you have to know where to find them. The Osiris Archive is no exception. Ken is trying to keep up, too.

There is so much activity on the OrganNet (Piporg-L) that most "cyber-organists" are panting to keep pace. Piporg-L started with 40 subscribers and has since passed the 600 mark. I long resisted Windows software, thinking I could avoid clicking on icons in favor of the ten commandments of DOS. Finally, I gave in so I could "surf the net" when Piporg-L joined the World Wide Web with their own "web page." This "hypertext" presentation of Piporg-L includes a link to the Osiris Archive as well.

What does all this mean?   Well, it means that you can load "Mosaic" or "Netscape," set your sights on http://albany.edu/~piporg-l or http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs

and a page will appear on your computer screen to guide you through the OrganNet (Piporg-L) or The Osiris Archive.

From these "web pages" you can investigate a variety of organ topics from the Organs of Glasgow, to over six hundred specifications in the Osiris Archive. This is a big jump from just a few years ago, when this whole business was just getting started.

Here in a nutshell, are a few corners of cyberspace that organists can enjoy:

Piporg-L: Pipe organs and related topics

http://albany.edu/~piporg-l

The Piporg-L web page will introduce you the contents of the list, starting with a quick guide to searching the archives, biography files, the Osiris Archive, and recordings of organ music in the CD-Connection catalog.

Osiris Archive

http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs/

The Osiris Archive web page describes how to search for over 600 organ specifications in the Osiris database. It lists help files that answer the most frequently asked questions about the archive--how to search for files, upload and downloadspecifications and how to volunteer to type new specifications for the archive. Last but not least, it provides a link to The Diapason Index --some 14,000 entries from the annual reviews that are published each year.

The Osiris Archive is growing daily with submissions from all over the world. The archive is located at the Vienna University of Economics and is part of the Earlym-L archives (a sister list to Piporg-L).  As hoped, it contains not only organ specifications, but playing impressions, recording discography and builders' notes. This material is kept in a free form database and is listed by organ builder, site, city, country and date of construction.

The Diapason Index

http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs/diapason.index

The Diapason Index may now be searched online from the Osiris Archive web page, or may be downloaded into your own word processor. These files are "comma delimited text files" and may be imported into your favorite database program, such as Dbase or FoxPro.  Downloading the file takes a bit of time --usually about 20 minutes if you have a fast modem.

Organ CDs

http://albany.edu/~piporg-l/organcds.@cd-conn

This spring, Ben Chi, co-owner of Piporg-L, posted an announcement that he had downloaded the organ catalog of The CD Connection, a well known catalog order firm. He culled out some 1,500 organ CDs and saved them on Piporg-L. To download this CD list by email, send this message to

[email protected]:

get organcds.@cd-conn

Be prepared for a moderate length download. This is a 27 page text file. Once you have loaded this file into your word processor, you may search for title, composer and artist, using your own word processor's "search" command. Prices of the organ CDs in this catalog are reported to be very competitive.

by Brian Swager

http://www.carillons/caught.in.the.net/

Sydney J. Shep is Associate Carillonneur of the National War Memorial Carillon in Wellington, New Zealand. She wrote this reflection on carillon web sites for the newsletter of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. Dr. Shep is also a Printing Fellow at the Wai-te-ata Press at Victoria University of Wellington.

New tech, high tech, more tech, no tech? As everyone gets on the proverbial bandwagon to create web sites, the world of the carillon is no exception. In this review of carillon sites, I want to survey some of the existing sites,  assess them according to some principles of effective web design, look at the fundamental nature of the electronic medium, and point out the pitfalls for those contemplating their own entry into this new performance field.

What are the advantages of a web site? As most of us are aware, the contemporary hunger for information has engendered a network of facts and figures which requires a different kind of tool for efficient access and navigation. The internet is one such tool which complements but does not substitute for existing tools. This is particularly true both in its role as a dynamic, continually updateable, on-line database and in its populist form, the newest vehicle for super-marketing and advertising. Print-based resources still have a place in our lives and consciousness,  and books are definitely not dead. So, what information about the carillon can be best delivered through the internet rather than through any other communication medium? Pictures, sound, video, statistics, recital programs, publications? Most of these, yes; some, definitely not; and others, well, design is everything.

Virtually all web sites these days include a picture of the tower, possibly the bells themselves, maybe even the clavier and performer. Great--a picture can paint a thousand words. But remember, not all computers have image-capabilities and those that do may not be operated by a user who wants to spend time (and money) downloading a full-screen, full-color bitmap. A useful text tag describing the image both permits the non-image user to feel part of the imaginative net-scape, and acts as a signal for the image-capable to click here if s/he so desires. Another shortcut is to provide only a thumbnail of the image with a hypertext link to its "full" size version, but again, use the full-size image opportunity to add a caption line.

Many web designers think images add a little spice to the page to save it from boredom and inertia. However,  a few images here and there, surrounded by text so dense you might as well read it in a book is not the answer. Screen resolution is an eyewearying 72 dpi, not the 1220-2400 dpi we are accustomed to in print. For example, if you are presenting a guided tour of your carillon, don't let the text do the driving. Add graphic navigational aids like maps and pointers. Otherwise, you are encouraging the reader to download to a print version, and haven't you then lost the whole point of using this electronic medium? On this point, compare <http://www.chapel.duke.edu/chapel/tour.htm&gt; Duke University Chapel with <http://smith2.sewanee.edu/gsmith/MapServe/AllSaints.html&gt; All Saint's Chapel.

Furthermore, like creating an advertising slogan or a poster, the web site requires a different kind of writing--clear, concise, to the point--definitely more a report than an essay. Hypertext links assist in ordering these chains of information nuggets. Think of the home page as both cover and table of contents, not the whole book itself. Since first impressions are everything, the home page can either tempt your reader to continue the journey, or can turn her/him away completely. A simple, catchy layout with the primary facts plus a road map for further exploration all in the space of one screen, are sufficient for the home page. The advent of frames and tables-supporting browsers has led to greater awareness of the need for simple design, a tune called KISS ("Keep It Simple, Stupid") which paper-based graphic designers have been singing for decades. Good examples are found at: <http://www.cis.yale.edu/carillon/&gt; Yale University Carillon and at <http://www.bells.usyd.ed.au/&gt; University of Sydney War Memorial Carillon.

Through several levels of linking hierarchy (the pros suggest three levels maximum--with four you're in danger of getting lost yourself), a large amount and variety of information can be presented, but order it in advance to help your readers along the path.

Let them savor the information byte by dark chocolate byte rather than confusing them with the whole cake. And to prevent information overweight, recall what Dorothy says in "The Wizard of Oz"--there's no place like home. At the bottom of each page, a "Home" or "Back to Home Page" link provides a way of getting out of the sensory maze. For the overindulgent, take a look at <http://www.cict.fr/toulouse/carillon/carillons.html&gt; if you want to be overwhelmed by blinking video clips, dark image backgrounds and text which is barely decipherable. We are in the business to communicate, even in the postmodern world, n'est-ce pas?

Additional multimedia features available on the net can be a trap. As with images, both sound and even more so, video, require enormous amounts of time to download, memory, and specialist software. Are the results worth it? Let's look at sound for a moment, something most folks probably think is an ideal marketing tool for an instrument which, after all, is an audio experience. We all know that the carillon and its acoustical environment is one of the most difficult instruments to record, new digital technologies notwithstanding. Translate that to computer reproduction on the net and are you really doing the carillon a favor by including a sound byte? A barely recognizable, 410K, 20-second morsel of Jef Denyn complete with high-volume hiss and overmodulation certainly doesn't do justice to the composer, performer or instrument. Ditto, a 312K, 30-second, unnamed and unnameable folksong. As the net is becoming more and more a powerful marketing tool, you could be responsible for turning people right off the carillon because your sonic shorthand is  such an inadequate representation of the real thing. No wonder an electronic carillon sounds like a better option for the un- or mis-informed!

Until sound reproduction is more advanced on the computer, an excellent solution is to list where good-quality carillon recordings can be bought. The easiest mechanism for this is to include a linked e-mail address for further information, or even an order form if you are in the distribution business yourself and have no qualms about electronic commerce. If you want to list recordings, music editions, catalogs, or other statistical information, you need to provide clearly, visually-oriented material. Take the example of music composition. Some organizations go to a lot of work to provide octave range capabilities of the music they are selling, recognizing that most carillonneurs are shopping for music they can play on their own instruments, or music of a particular variety such as original compositions, arrangements, solo, duets, etc. So, rather than long composer/title lists which make the screen-reader go cross-eyed in short order, why not provide a set of links starting with instrument size, or with genre of music. Shaping the information in a manner appropriate to the instrument and its musicians is important. Long alphabetized lists just don't sell your product to carillonneurs or anyone else out there.

And, don't forget to update your information. The whole advantage of the net is that it provides the opportunity to furnish the most recent information. Such dynamic, online database capabilities are useless if the material is inaccurate or obviously outdated. The record of last year's concerts, workshops, and congresses may provide an interesting archive of facts and figures, but does nothing for the image of an institution if such information is tired and worn, or worded in the present tense. In the hiatus between annual events, why not include a general announcement about forthcoming events and retain last year's to give an indication as to the breadth of programming. The need to be vigilant about this is an essential part of the public profile of the instrument Similarly, don't rely on someone else to tell you when your links to other sites no longer work. It is your responsibility to check them regularly or use one of the software packages that can autocheck for you. There is nothing so frustrating to the first-time surfie or seasoned user to come up with a screen which shouts "URL Not Found." This also goes for many web sites which have changed servers or directory architecture and are likewise inaccessible unless you too change your html files.

Finally, where to start to get an overview of the wealth of carillon sites out there today and to assess their strengths and weaknesses? Most people begin with the proprietary search engines which come with your browser software: yahoo, lycos, etc. Yahoo's search pulls up nine entries for carillon; judge for yourself their relevance to our concerns: the Lubbock, Texas "Carillon Retirement Center" (not a bell in sight except for the corporate identity); two entries for electronic carillon manufacture (why spend money and time on old bells when you can have the chime master system); and most obscurely of all, the University of Regina's long-standing student newspaper entitled (what else) "Carillon." Lycos is more fruitful, with 1,225 "relevant documents," the first 19 out of 20 at least having something to do with the bell instrument we all know and love. In the interests of time and sanity, I suggest you bypass this route completely and jump to an excellent point of departure, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut Guild of Carillonneurs' home page, URL <http://www.trincoll.edu/~carrill/carillon.html&gt;. In one hit, the major carillon installations worldwide are available for your surfing pleasure. Enjoy!

by Herbert L. Huestis

AGO.DOT.COM

A Tale of Two Organs

\x\dotcom

 

One aspect of the first AGO national convention of the new millennium was that critical reaction to new organs was instantaneous since "all points" bulletins were sent from laptop computers to the ends of the earth within hours of each event. Each program of the convention was a done deal two hours after its conclusion. There is no retreat from this form of instant replay.

This must be a rather frightening development for organ builders who whose instruments are showcased at a convention--after all, they want to satisfy their clients. Mistakes are hard to forgive when they are so well well advertised!

An excellent case in point was the first recital of the Seattle convention, that of Guy Bovet on the barely finished C.B. Fisk organ at Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony. This organ contains an unusually large supply of monumental stops for a tracker organ of North German lineage, including a "Stentor" division on very high wind pressure. Somehow, Bovet deemed the inclusion of these Promethean stops appropriate for a performance of Bach's E-flat Prelude and Fugue. If there had been wallpaper on the walls of the newly completed symphony hall, it would have curled from the sheer force of sound. Numerous listeners complained of headaches, and despite the lack of a sound meter, it seemed as if, somehow, someone was breaking the law.

A full report of this and other concerts will be provided in the October issue of The Diapason, but within the context of an OrganNet column, what is truly amazing is the speed at which various sources reported on Bovet's performance and the nature of the organ and acoustics of the hall.

This fateful performance was given the evening of July 2. That very evening, the following comment was made on Piporg-l, the Internet pipe organ list.

Dear List:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer critic R.M. Campbell has a piece on the paper's web site commenting on Benaroya Hall's Watjen Concert Organ which receives its public opening this weekend. It can be found at http://seattlep-i.com

The classical section of the Seattle Post-Intelligence web page contains four reviews of the Fisk organ by R.M. Campbell, music critic. They are thoughtful, balanced and well informed on matters organological. Rare stuff for the average music critic. We'll risk a short quote:

However, from my seat in Row N on the main floor, the instrument sounded shrill and too bright in the treble as it moved into forte and beyond. This is an unpleasant sound, with no warmth and little resonance.

These thoughts were echoed by various commentators on Piporg-l:

. . . Benaroya Hall is a big space though not a flattering one, and the Fisk is voiced typically big. (Some people I talked to found it disastrously dead. I know dead, and this isn't it, but as the saying goes it is more visually than acoustically spacious.) The organ definitely can be heard in the hall;

. . . The first Alain Fantaisie was something of a horror from where I sat, and more so for people sitting at higher levels who were nailed by typically maximum-voiced principals and mixtures.

. . . It is unfortunate that such a new building is built with faulty acoustics, especially with so many experts on the loose.

. . . It is not fair to place all the blame on the acoustics of the building (re: shrill treble). Clearly the finishers could have brought down the treble to match the acoustic environment at least to some extent. It does not take a rocket scientist to tell us that a dry room brings out the high frequencies. If Fisk came back in they could probably do something to improve the situation.

Well, it does appear that the Fisk people did come back. In a subsequent review, posted on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer web site, R.M. Campbell comments:

With more than 2,000 of those coming and going through Benaroya's doors for the American Guild of Organists convention--drawn here by the Fisk organ and other notable new instruments such as the Rosales organ at St. James Cathedral--the stakes of judgment become even higher. Organists are rarely short of opinions.

My e-mail from professional musicians, after my reviews of the first two concerts, was remarkably high in quantity and pungent in criticism of the Fisk organ itself.

Certainly, the instrument, which the Seattle Symphony Orchestra is calling the Watjen organ after Craig and Joan Watjen who donated the funds for its commission, has not been a complete success. The major complaint has been that its sound, particularly from the main floor, turns unpleasantly shrill and loud in the upper register. Technicians from the Fisk company have been hard at work this week, symphony officials said, making further adjustments to an instrument situated in a hall acoustically unfriendly to organs in general.

In the front row of the Founders' Tier, I knew I had the best seat for the organ. From there, it sounded balanced, clearly focused, rich in interesting colors and not so given to blasts of brash sound.

It appears that the Fisk voicers were hard at work ameliorating the forced tone that became so apparent when the hall was full. Perhaps they realized that the room (and not the orchestra) was the enemy.

The sharp (and probably justified) criticism of this organ certainly illustrates how high the stakes have become in this era of multi-million dollar organs and the global village, especially when these inaugural concerts are timed to coincide with a national AGO convention.

There was another side to this coin, where the "dot.com" fluidity and speed of communication allowed another organ builder bask in the heady limelight of extremely favorable criticism. However one must immediately caution that, in this case, the acoustical environment for this organ is superb, and most organists know that the room is the most important stop on the organ. The second organ to make its debut at the AGO convention is the new Rosales instrument built for St. James Cathedral, only a few blocks away from Benaroya Hall, but separated by light years in the mystical qualities an organ can invoke, when it finds itself in room that inspires wonder and awe.

Here again, the Pipe Organ List carried immediate reviews and comments.

. . . If Sunday night was a case of unmet high expectations, Monday started with surprise and delight. Some 25 years ago I lived in Seattle, and I remember the 1907 west end Hutchings-Votey of St. James Cathedral (RC) as a wheezy instrument in a dreary room. Well, it's not 1975 any more. The 4/51 organ has received some attention, the building has been stripped of its carpeting and acoustic tiles, and it now sings. Also, there is now a 3/48 Rosales in the chancel with a 4-manual console from which both instruments can be played. And played they were!

. . . The organ and the organist were both brilliant. I've long been a fan of Kynaston and yesterday reconfirmed my fondness for his playing. The organ is wonderful and is a masterpiece. The use of the old H-V organ in the other end of the cathedral was used to great effect. It was a masterful program. I think I heard people weeping after the Karg-Elert because it was so beautiful (there were people weeping after Bovet's Karg-Elert, too, but for a different reason).

I would expect that Manuel Rosales, organbuilder, Nicholas Kynasten, organist, Fr. Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral, Stephen Dieck, president of C.B. Fisk, Guy Bovet, organist, Carole Terry, curator of the Banaroya organ, and Charles Harris, architect of Benaroya Hall, will go their separate ways after a week of to and fro criticism from some 1500 organists gathered in Seattle and immensely magnified by the speed and power of the internet in this global village. There is no time to gather one's wits when things go very wrong or very well indeed. Dot.com communication gives a whole new dimension to artists and their work.     n

 

Note:

Quotes from Piporg-l (The Organ List) are verbatim and are not individually referenced.  Sources may be found by searching the Piporg-l archives at

www.albany.edu/piporg-l/

The first option on the Piporg-l web page will be

"Piporg-l list services and archives"

Click on that option and a screen will appear with the words

"Search the archives"

(http://listserv.albany.edu/archives/piporg-l.html)

This is a typical search engine where you can submit keywords to retrieve messages of interest to you. To retrieve the quotes listed in this OrganNet report (and more) you may enter: Seattle; Fisk. That's all you have to do.

Herbert L. Huestis

Herbert L. Huestis is a contributing editor to The Diapason.

Those of us whose careers span a fair number of years can remember discovering the magic of word processors and e-mail as computers arrived on the scene: the Commodore, Amiga and Kaypro, before the days of DOS, the PC Junior, and ubiquitous IBM 8088. We were astonished by this new technology. Computer clubs were the source of rudimentary skills--we brought our "lunchbox" machines, with hundreds of diskettes neatly stored in red mechanic's tool boxes.

There were good souls who helped neophytes master electronic bulletin boards and primitive communications programs that enabled burgeoning electronic mail. Most of us enjoyed bending our minds around these new concepts and in the early '90s the stage was set in the organ world for an electronic pipe organ list.

At the University of Albany, a "list server" was made available by Ben Chi, a systems analyst who, with Dave Kelzenburg and Dave Schutt, created "Piporg-L," one of the first and definitely the longest running pipe organ discussion list. The idea of pipe organ "conversations" caught hold and persisted through thick and thin. This once-fledgling list is now ten years old and going strong! It boasts over 1,000 subscribers and, though this number fluctuates, it gives an immediate indication of how popular the Piporg-L list is. January 15th officially marked its tenth anniversary. I hope the three "list owners" celebrated!

There is a certain recreational quality about these specialty lists, and that characteristic seems to be at the heart of Piporg-L. One can "tune in" on a variety of themes, but it soon becomes clear that the list thrives on variety--lots of it. Topics are as wide ranging as one can imagine. Sometimes emotions rule, and exchanges can get heated. Flames lick at the fabric of the list, and from time to time "owners" have to intervene. It's all pretty exciting, both to those who participate with gusto as well as to those who "lurk" in the shadows.

There are some aspects that I have found endearing, if one may use that term in reference to an Internet list. They are presented here, in no particular order, except as I remember them.

Conferences and conventions

Leading up to an organ event, there is often a scramble among list members to meet and put names and faces together. This is welcome solidarity and makes for easy communication with organists who first meet at a convention.

Research

Questions are often "put" on the list to help solve problems encountered by organ technicians and builders. In my personal experience, the organ list has made the difference between being well informed and learning too little, too late to avoid bitter lessons. All that is required is to put out your S.O.S. message in a clear and concise way, and it will be answered, often with great thoughtfulness.

Time flies when you are having fun

An amazing aspect of the list is the speed with which new organs are discovered and how they may be discussed (and dissected) in the course of a few days. There are no longer secrets in the organ world! The characteristics of a new organ, the room in which it stands, and the players who bring on its first breath of life are recorded for posterity and promulgated by official and unofficial observers and enthusiasts. Concerts and symposia on new organs are no longer events for the media and cognoscenti. They are open forums, attended by live audiences which, through the efforts of list members, disseminate impressions and provide a "bird's-eye view" of pipe organ activities accross the land.

It is said that the Internet has actually failed to accomplish some of the big ticket items that its corporate sponsors hoped to achieve. That it has grown in an independent way, without de facto leaders, does not mean it has grown without leadership. Growth just comes from within. This is a subtle point, but important, that the entity we call the Internet, and all its subsystems, of which Piporg-L is one, are free to evolve according to the input and output of its own members. This is a happy thought as Piporg-L enters its second decade.

Herbert L. Huestis

Hearing a pipe organ tuned in a sympathetic temperament is
like discovering fine wine after a lifetime of roadhouse coffee. There is
simply no comparison between the delights of pure tuning and the frustration of
cadences that beat unmercifully, no matter what the key or modulation.

When the listener does not hear this woeful tuning,
psychologists call it habituation. In other words, the average person does not
hear the inharmonicity of equal tuning because they know nothing better, and
have come to accept the ragged chords that have echoed in their ears for so
long as normal everyday music. One may take a holiday from equal temperament by
listening to a barbershop quartet for a dose of close harmony. Or take in a
concert on an organ made by an artisan builder who regards tuning as an
integral part of the instrument, reflective of its true baroque heritage. This
journey is worth the expense of rethinking all that we have taken for granted
in years past.

Ironies abound in the world of musical bias and each new
discovery can be delicious. In the late 19th century, we find a reliable bearer
of tempered tuning in that most unassuming of instruments, the reed organ. Free
reeds can hang on to their original tuning at least as well as cone tuned
pipes--in fact, they suffer less from wear and tear. Pump them up, and they
continue to play with the same sweet harmonies that their original tuning gave
them.

There are some aspects of 19th-century tuning that are tantalizing
indeed. Victorian temperaments are nearly equal, which means that in the
tradition of well-tuning, they render harmonious chords in all keys, though not
without individual key color. They are subtle, providing tension and relaxation
behind the scenes, rather than by the blunt contrast of sheep and wolves, as in
baroque temperaments. Their intervals gently progress from calm to agitated,
depending on the complexity and remoteness of each key. Somehow, they walk a
fine line between purity and utility. It seems that their particular strength
is modulation, where the prime keys assert themselves like the sun appearing
through cloud or the calm after a storm.

Of late, Victorian models of tuning have become popular with
both piano technicians and organ builders. The late 19th century was no less
rich in its diversity of temperaments than the 17th and 18th centuries.
Although theorized very early on, equal temperament was a child of the
industrial revolution. Perhaps it was the factory production of musical
instruments that propelled it into nearly universal practice among tuners and
musicians. Studies of ethnomusicology have informed us that the practice of
equal tuning was unique to western civilization and that other cultures
simultaneously developed far more rich and complex modes of intonation.

As we reflect on the revitalization of early music and an
increased regard for performance practice, we take equal tuning less for
granted. The realization that tuning methods have varied tremendously according
to time and place has awakened our ears in such a way that we can now explore
the world of sound and imagination, unfettered by musical prejudice. Take the
challenge: play through the modulations of your favorite 19th-century composer
and see what a "less than equal" temperament does for the music!
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Three practical considerations

If one is going to change an organ from equal to
well-temperament, it should be an operation that is undertaken with
considerable planning. One should consider the nature of an appropriate
temperament and what music will be the primary repertoire. It is important to
look at the objectives of a major change and to evaluate the musical results,
insofar as possible, ahead of time.

The sound of an organ goes a long way to dictate temperament.
Compatibility of organ building style and repertoire are major issues. If equal
temperament is one frustration among many, the organist must decide if a change
to well temperament is going to help change musical values for the better. It
is comforting to know that even a spinet piano can be satisfying when tuned in
a historic temperament. By the same token, there are many organs that will
benefit immensely from the natural harmonicity and increased resonance of a
carefully chosen temperament.

Once the decision is made, one should not use the
"candy store" approach to the selection of a temperament! It is a
good idea to seek out a consultant who has the sounds of various tunings in his
ears. Experience can be most helpful! There are several practical matters that
should be considered when evaluating the pros and cons of various tunings:
balance of thirds, regular or irregular intervals, and shared tuning with equal
temperament.

Balance and width of thirds (in cents)

The reason for tuning in well-temperaments is to achieve key
color. As a composer calls for various keys with a lesser or greater number of
accidentals, the key color is expected to change from pure and restful chords
to vibrating and agitated harmonies. These shifting key colors are relatively
subtle, perhaps even obscure to the layperson, though quite obvious to most
musicians. As one evaluates diverse temperaments, the issues revolve around the
amount of key color desired and the achievement of an even balance that
increases the frequency of beating thirds in accordance with a greater number
of accidentals, both in sharp and flat keys.

Circle of fifths: regular or irregular intervals

This consideration is often overlooked until one makes music
with orchestral and chamber players. Regular intervals ensure the best tuning
of obbligato instruments because the transition from various intervals within
the temperament is predictable and intuitively correct. Some well tunings have
a fine balance of key color, but present such irregular intervals that out of
tune playing by ancillary instruments is unavoidable. It is not a reflection
upon the players--actually, the more experienced and intuitive the players are,
the more likely they are to have difficulty with irregular temperaments. It is
precisely the "anticipatory" nature of "tuning on the fly"
that causes the problem.

Certainly, the best chamber players always tune with the
continuo for each open string or major interval, usually in a circle of fifths.
If that circle of fifths is predictable, things go well. If each successive
fifth is a bit wide or narrow, almost at random, how is an instrumentalist
going to remember the exact tuning? "Regular" temperaments solve this
problem by the use of predictable intervals for the circle of fifths.

Convertible or shared tunings

This is a special consideration where a well temperament
will actually share part of the circle of fifths with equal tuning, usually the
notes A-E-B-F#-C#. These five notes may be tuned exactly the same in both
temperaments! In an equal temperament, the remaining seven notes are tuned in
the same ratio as the first five. However, in a convertible or shared
temperament, the remaining seven notes are altered to the new temperament. The
benefits of a shared tuning are considerable, particularly if the instrument is
to be tuned back and forth between well and equal tuning. This is often the
case with a continuo organ which is featured in various temperaments and often
at various pitches from one concert to another.

Graphs

It is very helpful to see these relationships in a graph, as
well as text and numbers. It has become very common to express numeric
relationships among various temperaments in terms of deviation in cents from
equal temperament. This is not because equal temperament is best or right, but
because each interval is a mathematical division. Thus, a rendering of equal
temperament is not given as a "norm," but as a mathematical point of
reference.

Using an electronic tuning device vs. tuning by ear

It is ironic that tuning in equal temperament became
standard practice about the same time as electronic tuning devices became
commonplace professional tools. At this time, it may be said that most tuning
of musical instruments is done with an electronic reference. That is not to say
that "tuning by ear" is no longer practiced, but aural tuning has a
new perspective, to "test" temperament rather than set it. Before the
reader jumps to any conclusion, it should be emphasized that the "art of
tuning" is still very much intact, and fine piano and organ tuning has not
suffered at all. The very finest tuners still use their ears, and the machines
are just another tool in the box.

Paradoxically, the resurgence of well temperament coincides
with the widespread use of electronic tuning devices and computerized tuning
programs. Virtually every device available offers a synthesis of historic
temperaments that are available at the touch of a button. One might argue that
this enables those without sufficient ear training to "tune" various
instruments--it also enables quick and precise tuning by professional
technicians who have more than enough ear training to do the entire job without
an electronic tuner. It is very advantageous to move from theoretical considerations
to practical application  so easily
and effortlessly. It is a conundrum, but a happy one. Without electronic
assistance, historic tunings would be sufficiently tedious that they might well
be left undone.

Tuning by ear remains indispensable. The name of the game in
tuning is to reduce error--especially cumulative error. "Tests" are
the most important aspect of any tuning. They keep the tuner on the straight
and narrow, and prevent compound or cumulative errors that seriously degrade an
artistic tuning.

Recommended computer programs

Two fine computerized tuning programs are Robert Scott's
TuneLab program, available from Real Time Specialties, 6384 Crane Road,
Ypsilanti, MI 48197 ([email protected]) and Dean Reyburn's CyberTuner,
available from Reyburn Piano Service, 2695 Indian Lakes Road, NE, Cedar
Springs, MI 49319.

These are devices for tuning both historic and equal
temperament. Cost varies from less than $100 to about $900, depending on the
range of software desired. The best feature of these programs is that each
historic temperament file may be edited with a word processor. Other electronic
tuning devices are available, usually with pre-programmed historic
temperaments. The author suggests that they be compared on the basis of
accuracy (up to 1/10 cent) and the ease of programming various temperaments.
After that, there are issues of cost, portability and so forth.

As an aside, one may also consider style of tuning. The
author prefers the use of not one, but two electronic tuning devices--a
portable one to use inside the organ and a fixed unit at the console to monitor
tuning as the job progresses. This keeps the tuner's helper quite busy at both
organ and computer keyboards and reduces cumulative error by a considerable
amount. 

Historic tuning on the Internet

Bicknell, Stephen. A beginner's guide to temperament.

www.users.dircon.co.uk/~oneskull/3.6.04.htm

Bremmer, William. The true meaning of well-tempered tuning.

www.billbremmer.com/WellTemp.html

Foote, Edward. Six degrees of tonality; The well-tempered
piano.

www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_te mpered_piano.html

Gann, Kyle. An introduction to historical tunings.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kgann/his tune.html

Greenberg, Bernard S. What does "well-tempered"
mean?

www.bachfaq.org/welltemp.html

Kellner, Herbert Anton. Instructions for tuning a
harpsichord "wohltemperirt." 

ha.kellner.bei.t-online.de/

Palmer, Frederic. Meantone tuning.

home.pacbell.net/jeanannc/mpro/art icles/MeanTone.htm

Rubenstein, Michael. Well vs. equal temperament.

www.ma.utexas.edu/users/miker/tun ing/tuning.html

Taylor, Nigel. Tuning, temperaments and bells; The
ill-tempered piano.

www.kirnberger.fsnet.co.uk/   

by Herb Huestis

One of the leading events to make news on the OrganNet--technical name, PIPORG-L--was the 1995 convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders in San Jose, California. Dave Schutt, a founding member of Piporg-L, lives in San Jose and, with several members of the list, gave play-by-play descriptions of events as they occurred. High points included presentations on San Francisco Bay area organbuilding, including a visit to the Schoenstein Organ Shop, hosted by Jack Bethards. Robert Bates' presentation of the three fabulous organs (Fritts, Murray Harris and Fisk) at Stanford University was unforgettable. E.M. Skinner organs played a prominent role in the presentations with Nelson Barden's humorous  presentation of a serious subject--"Secrets of Successful Restoration." A riveting lecture, followed with a video presentation of the "demystification" of pitman chests by Joseph Dzeda and Nicholas Thompson-Allen, curators of the organ at Yale.

This was high powered stuff.

As various secrets and suggestions were let out of Pandora's box, they soon hit the net, often the same day they were presented. Once on the wire, they mushroomed into "threads" or lines of discussion. One of the most interesting topics was that of tuning, always good for many points of view.

For example:

Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 17:49:47 -0500

From: Eugene Blackstone

Subject: AIO Convention (Day Three)

Dave Schutt reports:

Bill Visscher talked about the tuning of mixtures. He had some little felt cones that had been fabricated to keep some pipes in the mixture from playing. They seemed to be very effective, and you don't end up with cotton all over the place. Bill had a 7-rank note that he tuned and a big scale Cornet that he tuned (one note).

Dave: while we have been using felt cones for tuning mixtures at home, when it has come to tuning the V Cornet, felt cones stuck in the top of the pipes have  been ineffective in preventing the pipes from speaking (off pitch, of course). So we have used cotton wads on sticks. I gather there must be something special about  Bill V.'s felt cones that silenced the large scale Cornet? If so, I'd like to try it. (And I presume that others of you use felt cones, too, and could tell me in what way they are constructed to silence a wide scale Cornet).

A quick reply came in:

Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 17:58:19 -0700

From: Peter Schmuckal

Subject: Re: AIO Convention (Day Three)

I was also at that talk. Bill was using bushing cloth, not felt to construct his cones.  They were a lot heavier than felt.

And another.

Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 21:04:21 -0700

From: Jim Tyler

Subject: Tuning Mixtures (Was: Re: AIO Convention (Day Three))

Another approach is a handful of tuning "mops." These amount to a bundle of short pieces of string or yarn taped to the end of a long thin rod. They can be gently lowered into the pipe, where the mop effectively interferes with the pipe's speech. The ones I've used have been thin metal rods, but I should think thin acrylic (perspex) rods would be lighter and perhaps less likely to damage the languid if accidently dropped into the pipe, rather than gently inserted. You have to have quite a collection of these mops, in a variety of sizes, but they last quite a while if  carefully made. They don't "shed" the way cotton does. Cones are, however, better for the *really* tiny pipes near the top of the compass.

Hope this helps!

Another reader was concerned for the health of languids:

I am personally fearful of placing anything that has any weight on the languids.  I use bushing cloth cones. They can be placed on the top of the pipe or inverted. The largest one that I use will fit over a 2¢ pipe (the lowest pitch mixture I presently tune is a 2-2/3¢). The smallest ones are about 3/8≤ dia by 1≤. There is something strange about the conical shape that stops the pipe from speaking. They are also very light weight and only rarely move the tuning slide. During tuning seasons I carry them nested in my shirt pocket (try that with your paint brushes and rods!).

Lanny Hochhalter

And another:

Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 20:06:26 -0400

From: Cullie Mowers

Subject: Mixture-tuning caps

The "felt" (actually heavy bushing cloth) caps for Tuning mixtures are *great,* and I've used them for years. I've also presented sets of them to organ maintenance colleagues after seeing bits of cotton, slivers of paper, etc. scattered on the walk- and rack-boards of organs they service!  The last set I bought (1989, under the name "K-D Kaps") cost $15.00; they were made by Kathy Foley. The address at that time was: K-D Kaps, PO Box 9223, Bolton, CT  06043. These are cones very professionally sewn out of heavy red bushing cloth. Each set contains several sizes; I forget just how many, and how many caps of each size, but they do the job on virtually every mixture I've encountered. Only exceptions have been the lowest-pitch rank of one Pedal mixture, and one bizarre mixture we ran onto which had slotted pipes in the lower pitch ranges. I hope that Ms. Foley or her heirs and assigns are still in business; *everyone* oughta have these gadgets in the tool box.

I could not resist sticking in my two cents:

Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 23:26:03 EDT

From: Herbert Huestis <[email protected]>

Subject: Tuning Mixtures

For what its worth, I have found that the most effective "mop" for tuning high mixture pipes is a very small artist's paint brush--or two for bigger pipes and mops for the biggest. They completely silence the pipe as well as clean the dust from the languid. Artist's brushes are invaluable when tuning coned pipes, since the removal of the dust is often all that is necessary to "tune" the pipe.

This "cleaning" of the languid tends to return the pipe to its original tuning. And if the brush is carefully inserted, the tuning mechanism will not be altered.

These tuning procedures are the mark of the most careful and sensitive technicians--for example, Robert and Richard Lahaise, who take care of the famous Hook organs in the Boston area. Of their work, Thomas Murray wrote:

The First Church of Jamaica Plain (where the Hook brothers are said to have been members) is a superb Hook instrument of 3 manuals and 31 speaking stops, built in 1854 and surviving in virtually unaltered condition. The smaller pipes, most of which are still cone tuned, are well preserved thanks to careful tuning procedures employed over the years.  The writer recalls watching with great interest as the Mixture and Sesquialtra stops were "tuned" prior to our recording sessions by the removal of dirt from the pipes with a tiny camel's hair brush, a practice which significantly reduces the risk of damage to the pipes by the use of tuning cones. (Liner notes from Mendelssohn Organ Sonatas, Sheffield label.)

Could there be any better recommendation for this technique?

Well, there you have it. That's how a "thread" works on the OrganNet. To follow threads, you log on and read all the messages on a particular subject. Often it will start with some inoccuous comment and balloon into a full-fledged discussion that may take you well into uncharted territory.

Let's hope you don't have to navigate through any storms, or get "burned" by a "flame."  And who knows what you will find?  There is so much to learn!

Many thanks to these volunteers who have typed specifications or made other contributions to the Osiris Archive! Thanks to these efforts, there are more than 1100 organ specifications and other data housed at this World Wide Web site.

Martin Chalton                  England

Walter Davis     United States

Albert Falop      United States

Glen Frank         United States

Richard Greene                United States

Kernin Ilkka      Finland

Carl Kishline     United States

Kenneth Matthews        United States

Ian McClelland                 Ireland

David Lowry    United States

Peter Rodwell  Spain

Richard Sedcole               New Zealand

Jonathan Tan    Singapore

Timothy Tikker                United States

Herb Huestis, Editor

The Osiris Archive, housed at the Vienna University of Economics, Austria

http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/pub/earlym-l/organs

Sidebar

Subject: Some Tuning Humah....

Date: 14-Oct-95 at 05:58  

From: Edward Peterson

INTERNET: [email protected]

TO: 70771,1047

----------------------------

REEDTUNE.EXE

----------------------------

Ed's Practice-Makes-Perfect Tuning Program   (c)1995

This program is not guaranteed in any way and works only for reed organs. For tuning pipe organs get Ed's Practical ComputerChromoTune Your Pipe Organ v2.7b.

Please check your Autoexec.Dingbat file before running this program;

It must contain the line "SET Tongue-in-cheek"!

Start:

Tune_Organ:

                  if "out-of-tune badly" run subroutine1;

                  else goto Tune_Reed;

                  next;

Tune_Reed;

                  if In_Tune leavewellenoughalone;

                  if "flat" GoSub2Flat;

                                    Sub2Flat:

                                                      withdraw - scrape, scrape;

                                                      cool - insert;

                                                      play - assess;

                                                      if "nowsharp" GoSub2Sharp;

                                                      if "stillflat" GoSub2Flat;

                                                      expect "InTune"

                                                      when InTune goto Next_Reed;

                                                      else goto Tune_Reed;

                                                      next;

                  if "sharp" GoSub2Sharp;

                                    Sub2Sharp:

                                                      withdraw - file, file;

                                                      cool - insert;

                                                      listen;

                                                      if "stillsharp" GoSub2Sharp;

                                                      if "nowflat" GoSub2Flat; 

                                                      expect "InTune"

                                                      when InTune goto Next_Reed;

                                                      if "error" returnto Tune_Reed;

                                                      next;

                 

                  expect "InTune"

                  ifandwhen In_Tune goto Next_Reed;

Next_Reed:

                  goto Tune_Reed;

                  next;

                  if Not_In_Tune loopback else;

                  when "temperamentbad" gosub4 Find_Wolf;

                  if "temperamentgood" find Distrust_Ears_Anyway;

                   expect "In_Tune"

                  quitif In_Tune;

                  else goto Tune_Reed;

                  next;

Find_Wolf:

                  gosub1 Set_Temperament;

                  endif "In_Tune";

                  next;

[Subroutine1]:

                  Set_Temperament:

                                    if "bad" goto Start_Over;

                                    else goto Call_Tuner;

                                    ifgood Thank_God;

                                    if "UknowwhatURdoing" proceed;

                                    then goto Tune_Organ;

                                    endif "notknowwhatURdoing";                                                   endsubroutine1;

                                    next;

                                    quit;

Call_Tuner:

                  goto Call_Number;                          wait;

                  wait months;

                  wait manymonths;

                  iftuned pay handsomely;

                  else goto Start_Over;

                  quit;

                  next;

 

Pull_Hair_Out:

                  then goto Start_Over; 

                  ifnot hairy gosub1;

                  quit;

 

Start_Over:

                  call Subroutine1;

                  ifgood loopback Tune_Organ;

                  else goto Pull_Hair_Out;

                  if "understandthis" goto ITT Tech;

                  if "notunderstandthis" goto music school;

                  failquit;

                  quit;

                  endif "last resort":

                  call Call_Tuner;

                  end

                  end