THE ORGAN'S PAST AND PRESENT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20010, 19 August 1930, Page 15

THE ORGAN'S PAST AND PRESENT.

A NOBLE INSTRUMENT. (SPECIALLY WBITTEN rOB THE PEESS.) [By J. C. Bkadshiw, Mus. ]>oe.] It is a furiously sad fact that the organ, the most noble and majestic of all musical instruments, is the one which has at all periods of its history lent itself most readily to trickery. From the period when instrumental music was in its infancy to the present day, there have been both organ builders and performers ever ready to drag in tho dust one of man's finost creations. We read of instruments, erected at Magdeburg early in the seventeenth century, which included devices in imitation of a bird's song, a bird's scream, a cuckoo, and a crowing cock. Another mechanical device of tho time found in some organs consisted of an arrangement ot' revolving stars covered with small bells. Michael Practorius, a German organist of the period, went one better than this. He drew .up a specification which is remarkable as being probably the first scheme suggested with a view to economy in organ construction by the "borrowing" of stops. His specification included three manuals with sixteen stops on each, a total of foKyeight: but by "borrowing" this end was obtained from only sixteen tanks of pipes, various stops being made to act on pipes of different length. This was clearly a foreshadowing of the "borrowing" system at the present time much abused, particularly in the building of cinema organs. Unfortunately electricity has made "borrowing" an easy matter. Praetorius included also various "beautiful things" in his organ, revolving stars with cymbals, cuckort, bird's whistle, bagpipe, and the bleat of a goat. Even organ cases did not escape trickery at this period. In Germany. France, and Spain, cases wore often "decorated" with grotesque heads having movable jaws and eyes, or a tonguo which popped Out When tho organ blowers started work. This misapplied ingenuity of tho organ builder brought forth from an early writer of tho sixteenth centurv the following denunciation. ''Thfi orpan must be an ornament to the church and a help to godly singers. It must have suitable figures upon it, not trivial ar.d ridiculous tricks, such as was made a few years ago in. a Capuchin monastery, in which a large 'figure of a monk loolced out of a window, rising a3 far as hia girdle, and then suddenly disappearing so that young and old, man and woman wore startled, and some began to others to curse. Monkey faces, and priests with monkey faces, with wide mouths, which open and shut, and with long beards, and that rattle money in their pockets aie things to be avoided. Also, revolving stars with bells are things that belong not to the Church but. to the devil, who tries under the cloak of good works to fascinate people to do evil." The Cinema Organ. Coming now to our own day, I ven* tuve to submit that the pendulum has again swung in the wrong direction. Tho cinema organ, with its so-called "effects," is playing its evil part in the desecration of both instrument and music, and in the destruction of musical taetc. Tho following is a list of some of these "effects," taken, not from American sources, but from the specification of an organ built in a London cinema by an English firm of builders, who should have known better: Steamboat whistle, railway thistle, police whistle, thunder, surf, wind howl, rain, aeroplane, slap on the face, klaxon horn, motor horn, iircbell, telephone bell, bird whistle, horses's hooves, syren, bang of drum, whip-crack, ratchet, crockery smash, pistol Shot, cannoh effects, handbell, anvil, cock-crow, etc. Organ and Orchestra. Musicians have little to thank the "talkies" for, but they seem to bo having at least one geod effect; they are cheeking the construction of these monstrosities. Another example of present-day dcsecfation of tho organ is found in much of the music used as accompaniment to pictures. Anything more unsuited to the exalted character of the organ than music of the jazz type and other things no better it would be difficult to imagine. Which of the two types of music dispensed, blatant jazfe or mawkish sob-stuff, is the more harmful, it would be difficult to say. It iB indeed a sad reflection on the musical taste of the present day that such profanity and vulgarity can be tolerated. Many inventions and discoveries bring not only blessings but aIBO curseß in their wake. Electricity applied to organs has done much to make for perfection of the manipulation and increased mUsieal effect; it has also unfortunately rendered possible many gross abuses. It must net be thought that this is intended as a condemnation of all percussion effects in organs. The modern Organ, with its fine imitative stops, Very faithfully reproducing each department of the orchestra—strings, Wood-wind, and brass—is peculiarly suited for the performances of orchestral music as well &s for music specially composed for the instrument. Electricity has made possible and effective the addition of all the percussion instru' ments of the orchestra, drums, bells, etc., and if these stops are used with discretion and in accordance with the composer's directions, more •iaithiul reproduction of orchestral music must be the result. The first attempt at the application of percussion effects to the organ was probably in the year 1583 when, at Danfcig, an instrument was built which included a drum. Another step irt earlv use was the glockenspiel, or carillon, consisting of steel bats struck bv hammers to represent the sound or bells. We are told that the great John Sebastian Bach thought highly of this stop and himself invented a mechanical device to render its use more effective. The concert organ may quite legitimately be equipped with electrical devices in imitation of the hst r P> bells, and drums. If the effect is musical it may well be added to the already countless beauties of the king of instruments." The Church Organ. In the church and concert organs of to-day we have a wonderfully perfect work of science and art. wind pressure applied to reeds has resulted in more beautiful and more characteristic tone quality; »*d touch mechanical accessories, and electrical devices for manipulation render possible quick changes and dramatic effects undreamed of in organ playing a few years ago. Of course the modern console, with its mass of stops, pistons, pedals, etc., in some ways makes ercater demands on the player than was the case a generation ago. A large instrument with its maze of devices calls for much alertness a steady hand, and a good memory. J heardla dramatic and unexpected effect trom an organ when I was in England in 1922 I was sitting with the organist at a certain Cathedral one Sunday evening as he played for the concluding voluntary a movement from Elgar's organ sonata. A particularly delicate and ethereal effect was wanted tor one passage, but when the organist put his hand on the solo organ to piny it, there whs a blast of trumpets loud enough to wake the r i„„ r i tUo good man had forgotten to p" in «ed,! Still tether entertainment for me followed. I had another surprise when T saw the effect this dramatic bit of music had on its lnnklpss tnthor, he> was shaking with laughter. One 'can well imagine that

the cinema organist must keep his head screwed on pretty tightly. It would be specially, entertaining for the gallety when some sob-stuff in the shape of what I have heard spoken ot as mangel-wurzel flutes plus a superWobbly tremulant was wanted, if the player touched the wrong gadget and brought oh, say, the "syren'' or the "crockery smash." We are,fortunate in Christchurch in haviiig several fine instruments of firstclass quality. The Cathedral organ, though not so large as many in the Old Country, for sheer beauty of tone and nobility of effect would be difficult to surpass. How far the new organ in the Concert Hall is to be made of any educational value is a matter of conjecture. The position is difficult; it is evidently considered necessary that the Concert Hall, which musicians were hoping would be devoted solely to the promotion of music, must pay its way by the admission of pictures. Oh, that we in this fair City possessed a mere fraction of the vision to be found in There, in spite of hard times, there is a city organ regularly played, and the ratepayers in addition tax themselves to the tune of £2500 per annum to maintain an orchestra.