“The King of Instruments” is what the wind organ is called for its enormous size, stunning sound range and unique richness of timbres. A musical instrument with a long history, which has experienced periods of enormous popularity and oblivion, it served both for religious services and secular entertainment. The organ is also unique in that it belongs to the class of wind instruments, but is equipped with keys. A special feature of this majestic instrument is that to play it, the performer must masterfully control not only his hands, but also his feet.
A little history
Organ - musical instrument with a rich and ancient history. According to experts, the ancestors of this giant can be considered the syrinx - the simplest reed flute of Pan, the ancient oriental shen reed organ and the Babylonian bagpipe. What all these dissimilar instruments have in common is that to extract sound from them, a more powerful air flow than human lungs can create is required. Already in ancient times, a mechanism was found that could replace human breathing - bellows, similar to those used to fan the fire in a blacksmith's forge.
Ancient history
Already in the 2nd century BC. e. Greek craftsman from Alexandria Ctesibius (Ctesebius) invented and assembled a hydraulic organ - hydraulics. Air was pumped into it by a water press, and not by bellows. Thanks to such changes, the air flow was much more uniform, and the sound of the organ became more beautiful and smooth.
In the first centuries of the spread of Christianity, air bellows replaced the water pump. Thanks to this replacement, it became possible to increase both the number and size of pipes in the organ.
The further history of the organ, a musical instrument, quite loud and little regulated, developed in such European countries oh, like Spain, Italy, France and Germany.
Middle Ages
In the middle of the 5th century AD. e. organs were built in many Spanish churches, but due to their very loud sound they were used only on major holidays. In 666, Pope Vitalian introduced this instrument into Catholic worship. In the 7th-8th centuries the organ underwent several changes and improvements. It was at this time that the most known organs, however, the art of their construction also developed in Europe.
In the 9th century, Italy became the center of their production, from where they were distributed even to France. Later, skilled craftsmen appeared in Germany. By the 11th century, such musical giants were being built in most European countries. However, it is worth noting that modern instrument differs significantly from what a medieval organ looks like. The instruments created in the Middle Ages were much cruder than later ones. Thus, the sizes of the keys varied from 5 to 7 cm, and the distance between them could reach 1.5 cm. To play such an organ, the performer used fists rather than fingers, hitting the keys with force.
In the 14th century, the organ became a popular and widespread instrument. This was also facilitated by the improvement of this instrument: the organ keys replaced large and inconvenient plates, a bass keyboard for the feet appeared, equipped with a pedal, the registers became noticeably more diverse, and the range was wider.
Renaissance
In the 15th century, the number of tubes was increased and the size of the keys was reduced. During the same period, a small portable (organetto) and a small stationary (positive) organ became popular and widespread.
Musical instrument XVI century becomes more and more complex: the keyboard becomes five-manual, and the range of each manual could reach up to five octaves. Register switches appeared, which made it possible to significantly increase the timbre capabilities. Each of the keys could be connected to dozens and sometimes hundreds of pipes, which produced sounds that were the same in pitch but differed in color.
Baroque
Many researchers call the 17th-18th centuries the golden period of organ performance and organ building. The instruments built at this time not only sounded great and could imitate the sound of any one instrument, but also of entire orchestral groups and even choirs. In addition, they were distinguished by their transparency and clarity of timbre sound, most suitable for the performance of polyphonic works. It should be noted that most of the great organ composers, such as Frescobaldi, Buxtehude, Sweelinck, Pachelbel, Bach, wrote their works specifically for the “baroque organ”.
"Romantic" period
Romanticism of the 19th century, according to many researchers, with its desire to give this musical instrument a rich and powerful sound inherent in a symphony orchestra, had a dubious, and even bad influence. Masters, and primarily the Frenchman Aristide Cavaillé-Cohl, sought to create instruments capable of becoming an orchestra for one performer. Instruments appeared in which the sound of the organ became unusually powerful and large-scale, new timbres appeared, and various design improvements were made.
New time
The 20th century, especially at its beginning, was characterized by a desire for gigantism, which was reflected in organs and their scale. However, such trends quickly passed, and a movement arose among performers and specialists in the construction of organs, promoting a return to comfortable and simple tools Baroque type, with a genuine organ sound.
Appearance
What we see from the hall is the outside, and it is called the façade of the organ. Looking at it, it’s difficult to decide what it is: a wonderful mechanism, a unique musical instrument, or a work of art? The description of the organ, a musical instrument of truly impressive size, could fill several volumes. We will try to make general sketches in a few lines. First of all, the facade of the organ is unique and inimitable in each of the halls or temples. The only thing in common is that it consists of pipes assembled into several groups. In each of these groups, the pipes are arranged in height. Behind the austere or richly decorated facade of the organ lies a complex structure, thanks to which the performer can imitate the voices of birds or the sound of the sea surf, imitate the high sound of a flute or an entire orchestral group.
How is it arranged?
Let's look at the structure of the organ. The musical instrument is very complex and can consist of three or more small organs that the performer can control simultaneously. Each of them has its own set of pipes - registers and manual (keyboard). This complex mechanism is controlled from the executive console, or as it is also called, the lectern. It is here that the keyboards (manuals) are located one above the other, on which the performer plays with his hands, and below there are huge pedals - keys for the feet, which allow you to extract the lowest bass sounds. An organ can have many thousands of pipes, lined up in a row, and located in internal chambers, closed from the viewer's eyes by a decorative facade (avenue).
Each of the small organs included in the “large” one has its own purpose and name. The most common are the following:
- main - Haupwerk;
- top - Oberwerk;
- "ruckpositive" - Rückpositiv.
Haupwerk - the "main organ" contains the main registers and is the largest. Somewhat smaller and softer sounding, the Rückpositiv also contains some solo registers. “Oberwerk” - “upper” introduces a number of onomatopoeic and solo timbres into the ensemble. “Rukpositive” and “overwerk” pipes can be installed in semi-closed chamber-blinds, which open and close using a special channel. Due to this, effects such as gradual strengthening or weakening of sound can be created.
As you remember, an organ is a musical instrument that is both keyboard and wind. It consists of many pipes, each of which can produce a sound of one timbre, pitch and strength.
A group of pipes producing sounds of the same timbre are combined into registers that can be activated from the remote control. Thus, the performer can select the desired register or a combination of them.
Air is pumped into modern organs using an electric motor. From the bellows, through air ducts made of wood, the air is directed into vinladas - a special system of wooden boxes, in the top covers of which special holes are made. It is in them that the organ pipes are strengthened with their “legs”, into which air from the vinlad is supplied under pressure.
The organ is the largest musical instrument, a unique human creation. There are no two identical organs in the world.
The giant organ has many different timbres. This is achieved through the use of hundreds of metal pipes different sizes, through which air is blown, and the pipes begin to hum, or “sing.” Moreover, the organ allows you to continue the sound for as long as you like at a constant volume.
The pipes are located horizontally and vertically, some are suspended on hooks. In modern organs their number reaches 30 thousand! The most big pipes have a height of over 10 m, and the smallest are 1 cm.
The organ management system is called the department. This is a complex mechanism controlled by an organist. The organ has several (from 2 to 7) manual keyboards (manuals), consisting of keys, like on a piano. Previously, the organ was played not with fingers, but with fists. There is also a foot keyboard or just a pedal with up to 32 keys.
Usually the performer is assisted by one or two assistants. They switch registers, the combination of which gives rise to a new timbre, not similar to the original one. The organ can replace an entire orchestra because its range exceeds the range of all the instruments in the orchestra.
The organ has been known since ancient times. The creator of the organ is considered to be the Greek mechanic Ctesibius, who lived in Alexandria in 296–228. BC e. He invented a water organ - the hydraulos.
Nowadays, the organ is most often used in religious services. Some churches and cathedrals hold concerts or organ services. In addition, there are organs installed in concert halls. The largest organ in the world is located in the American city of Philadelphia, in the McCays department store. Its weight is 287 tons.
Many composers wrote music for the organ, but it was the genius composer Johann Sebastian Bach who revealed its capabilities as a virtuoso performer and created works of unsurpassed depth in its depth.
In Russia, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka paid significant attention to organ art.
It is almost impossible to master playing the organ on your own. This requires a lot of musical experience. Learning to play the organ begins in schools, if you have the skills to play the piano. But it is possible to master playing this instrument well by continuing your studies at the conservatory.
MYSTERY
The tool has been around for a long time
Decorated the cathedral.
Decorates and plays
The entire orchestra replaces
Organ– a unique musical instrument with a long history. One can only speak about the organ in superlatives: the largest in size, the most powerful in sound intensity, with the widest sound range and a huge richness of timbres. That is why he is called the “king of musical instruments.”
The ancestor of the modern organ is considered to be the Pan flute, which first appeared in Ancient Greece. There is a legend that god wildlife, shepherding and cattle breeding, Pan invented a new musical instrument for himself, connecting several reed tubes of different sizes to produce wonderful music while having fun with cheerful nymphs in luxurious valleys and groves. To successfully play such an instrument, great physical effort and good respiratory system. Therefore, to facilitate the work of musicians in the 2nd century BC, the Greek Ctesibius invented a water organ or hydraulic organ, which is considered the prototype of the modern organ.
Organ development
The organ was constantly improved and in the 11th century it began to be built throughout Europe. Organ building reached its greatest flourishing in XVII-XVIII centuries in Germany, where musical works Great composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude, unsurpassed masters of organ music, created for the organ.
The organs differed not only in their beauty and variety of sound, but also in their architecture and decor - each of the musical instruments had individuality, was created for specific tasks, and fit harmoniously into the internal environment of the room. 
Only a room that has excellent acoustics is suitable for an organ. Unlike other musical instruments, the peculiarity of the sound of an organ depends not on the body, but on the space in which it is located.
The sounds of the organ cannot leave anyone indifferent; they penetrate deep into the heart, evoke a wide variety of feelings, make you think about the frailty of existence and direct your thoughts to God. Therefore in Catholic churches There were organs everywhere in cathedrals; the best composers wrote sacred music and played the organ themselves, for example, Johann Sebastian Bach.
In Russia, the organ was classified as a secular instrument, since traditionally in Orthodox churches The sound of music during worship was prohibited.
Today's organ is a complex system. It is both a wind and keyboard musical instrument, having a pedal keyboard, several manual keyboards, hundreds of registers and from hundreds to more than thirty thousand pipes. Pipes come in a variety of lengths, diameters, type of structure and materials of manufacture. They can be copper, lead, tin or from various alloys, for example, lead-tin. The complex structure allows the organ to have a huge range of sound in height and timbre and have a wealth of sound effects. The organ can imitate the playing of other instruments, which is why it is often equated to a symphony orchestra. The largest organ is located in the USA in concert hall Atlantic City Boardwalk. It has 7 manual keyboards, 33112 pipes and 455 registers.
The sound of an organ cannot be compared with any other musical instrument, and even symphony orchestra. Its powerful, solemn, unearthly sounds have an immediate, profound and stunning effect on the human soul; it seems that the heart is about to burst from the divine beauty of the music, the sky will open up and the secrets of existence, until that moment incomprehensible, will be revealed.
When starting to talk about the structure of the organ instrument, we should start with the most obvious.
The organ console refers to the controls, which include all the numerous keys, register change levers and pedals.
So to gaming devices include manuals and pedals.
TO timbre– register switches. In addition to them, the organ console consists of: dynamic switches - channels, a variety of foot switches and copula switch keys, which transfer the registers of one manual to another.
Most organs are equipped with copulas for switching registers to the main manual. Also, using special levers, the organist can switch various combinations from the bank of register combinations.
In addition, a bench is installed in front of the console, on which the musician sits, and next to it is the organ switch.
Example of an organ copulaBut first things first:
- Copula. A mechanism that can transfer the registers of one manual to another manual, or a pedal keyboard. This is relevant when you need to transfer the sound registers of weaker manuals to stronger ones, or transfer the sound registers to the main manual. The copulas are activated using special foot levers with locks or using special buttons.
- Channel. This is a device with which you can adjust the volume of each individual manual. At the same time, the shutters of the blinds are adjusted in the box through which the pipes of this particular manual pass.
- Memory bank of register combinations. Such a device is available only in electric organs, that is, in organs with an electrical circuit. Here we would make the assumption that an organ with an electric structure is somehow related to antediluvian synthesizers, but the wind organ itself is too ambiguous an instrument for such an oversight to be easily made.
- Ready-made register combinations. Unlike the memory bank of register combinations, which vaguely resemble the presets of modern digital audio processors, ready-made register combinations refer to organs with a pneumatic register structure. But the essence is the same: they make it possible to use ready-made settings.
- Tutti. But this device includes manuals and all registers. Here's the switch.
Manual
The keyboard, in other words. It’s just that the organ has keys for playing with your feet – pedals, so it’s more correct to say it’s a manual.
Usually there are from two to four manuals in an organ, but sometimes there are specimens with one manual, and even such monsters that have as many as seven manuals. The name of the manual depends on the location of the pipes it controls. In addition, each manual is assigned its own set of registers.
IN the main thing The loudest registers are usually located in the manual. It is also called Hauptwerk. It can be located either closest to the performer or in the second row.
- Oberwerk – a little quieter. Its pipes are located under the pipes of the main manual.
- Rückpositive – absolutely unique keyboard. It controls those pipes that are located separately from all the others. So, for example, if the organist is sitting facing the instrument, then they will be located at the back.
- Hinterwerk - This manual controls the pipes that are located at the back of the organ.
- Brustwerk. But the pipes of this manual are located either directly above the remote control itself, or on both sides.
- Solowerk. As can be judged from the name itself, the pipes of this manual are equipped with big amount solo registers.
In addition, there may be other manuals, but those listed above are used most often.
In the seventeenth century, organs had a kind of volume control - a box through which pipes with shutters passed. The manual that controlled these pipes was called Schwellwerk and was located at a higher level.
Pedals
Originally, organs did not have pedal keyboards. It appeared around the sixteenth century. There is a version that it was invented by a Brabant organist named Louis Van Walbeke.
Nowadays there are a variety of pedal keyboards depending on the design of the organ. There are both five and thirty-two pedals, there are organs without a pedal keyboard at all. They are called portables.
Usually the pedals control the bassiest trumpets, for which a separate staff is written, under the double score, which is written for the manuals. Their range is two or even three octaves lower than other notes, so a large organ can have a range of nine and a half octaves.
Registers
Registers are a series of pipes of the same timbre, which are, in fact, a separate instrument. To switch registers, there are handles or switches (for electrically controlled organs), which are located on the organ console either above the manual or next to it on the sides.
The essence of register control is this: if all registers are turned off, the organ will not sound when you press a key.
The name of the register corresponds to the name of its largest pipe, and each handle refers to its own register.
There are both labial, so reed registers. The first relate to the control of pipes without reeds, these are the registers of open flutes, there are also registers of closed flutes, principals, registers of overtones, which, in fact, form the color of the sound (potions and aliquots). In them, each note has several weaker overtones.
But reed registers, as their name suggests, control pipes with reeds. They can be combined in sound with labial pipes.
Register selection is provided in stave, it is written above the place where one or another register should be applied. But matters are complicated by the fact that different times and even just in different countries organ registers differed sharply from each other. Therefore, the registration of an organ part is rarely specified in detail. Usually, only the manual, the size of the pipes and the presence or absence of reeds are accurately indicated. All other nuances of sound are left to the performer’s consideration.
Pipes
As you might expect, the sound of pipes is strictly dependent on their size. Moreover, the only trumpets that sound exactly as written on the musical staff are eight-foot trumpets. Smaller pipes sound correspondingly higher, and larger ones – lower than written in the musical stave.
The largest pipes, which are not found in all, but only in the largest organs in the world, measure 64 feet. They sound three octaves lower than what is written on the musical staff. Therefore, when the organist uses the pedals when playing in this register, infrasound is emitted.
To tune small labials (that is, those without a tongue), use a steamhorn. This is a rod, at one end of which there is a cone, and at the other - a cup, with the help of which the bell of the pipes of the organ is expanded or narrowed, thereby achieving a change in the pitch of sound.
But to change the pitch of large pipes, additional pieces of metal are usually cut out, which bend like reeds and thus change the tone of the organ.
Additionally, some pipes may be purely decorative. In this case, they are called “blind”. They do not sound, but have purely aesthetic significance.
The piano also has texture. There, this is a mechanism for transmitting the force of finger strikes from the surface of the key directly to the string. The organ plays the same role and is the main mechanism for controlling the organ.
In addition to the fact that the organ has a structure that controls the valves of the pipes (it is also called a playing structure), it also has a register structure that allows you to turn entire registers on and off.
Alexey Nadezhin: “The organ is the largest and most complex musical instrument. In fact, an organ is a whole brass band, and each of its registers is a separate musical instrument with its own sound.
The largest organ in Russia is installed in the Svetlanov Hall of the Moscow International House of Music. I was lucky enough to see a side of him from which very few people have seen him.
This organ was manufactured in 2004 in Germany by a consortium of companies Glatter Gotz and Klais, considered the flagships of organ building. The organ was developed specifically for the Moscow International House of Music. The organ has 84 registers (in a regular organ the number of registers rarely exceeds 60) and more than six thousand pipes. Each register is a separate musical instrument with its own sound.
The height of the organ is 15 meters, weight is 30 tons, cost is two and a half million euros. 
Pavel Nikolaevich Kravchun, associate professor of the Department of Acoustics at Moscow State University, who is the chief caretaker of the organs of the Moscow International House of Music and who took part in the development of this instrument, told me about how the organ works. 
The organ has five keyboards - four manual and one foot. Surprisingly, the foot keyboard is quite complete and some simple works can be performed with only legs. Each manual (manual keyboard) has 61 keys. On the right and left are handles for turning on registers. 
Although the organ looks completely traditional and analog, in fact it is partly controlled by a computer, which first of all remembers presets - sets of registers. They are switched using buttons on the ends of the manuals. 
Presets are saved on a regular 1.44″ floppy disk. Of course, disk drives are almost never used in computer technology anymore, but here it works properly. 
It was a discovery for me to learn that every organist is an improviser, because the notes either do not indicate a set of registers at all or indicate general wishes. All organs have only a basic set of registers in common, and their number and tonality can vary greatly. Only best performers can quickly adapt to the huge range of registers of the Svetlanov Hall organ and use its capabilities to the fullest.
In addition to the knobs, the organ has foot operated levers and pedals. Levers enable and disable various computer-controlled functions. For example, combining keyboards and a rising effect controlled by a rotating pedal-roller, as it rotates, additional registers are connected and the sound becomes richer and more powerful.
To improve the sound of the organ (and at the same time other instruments), an electronic Constellation system was installed in the hall, which includes many microphones and mini-speakers-monitors on stage, lowered from the ceiling on cables using motors and many microphones and speakers in the hall. This is not a sound reinforcement system; when it is turned on, the sound in the hall does not become louder, it becomes more uniform (spectators in the side and distant seats begin to hear the music as well as spectators in the stalls), in addition, reverberation can be added, which improves the perception of the music. 
The air with which the organ sounds is supplied by three powerful but very quiet fans. 
To supply it evenly,… ordinary bricks are used. They press the furs. When the fans are turned on, the bellows are inflated, and the weight of the bricks provides the necessary air pressure. 
Air is supplied to the organ through wooden pipes. Surprisingly, most of the dampers that make pipes sound are controlled purely mechanically - by rods, some of which are more than ten meters long. When many registers are connected to the keyboard, it can be very difficult for the organist to press the keys. Of course, the organ has an electrical amplification system, which makes the keys easy to press when turned on, but high-class organists of the old school always play without amplification - because this is the only way to change intonation by changing the speed and force of pressing the keys. Without amplification, an organ is a purely analog instrument; with amplification, it is digital: each pipe can only sound or be silent.
This is what the rods from the keyboards to the pipes look like. They are made of wood, since wood is least susceptible to thermal expansion. 
You can go inside the organ and even climb a small “fire” ladder along its floors. There is very little space inside, so it’s difficult to get a sense of the scale of the structure from the photographs, but I’ll still try to show you what I saw. 
Pipes vary in height, thickness and shape. 
Some pipes are wooden, some are metal made of tin-lead alloy. 
Before everyone big concert the organ is tuned again. The setup process takes several hours. To adjust, the ends of the smallest pipes are slightly flared or rolled with a special tool; larger pipes have an adjusting rod. 
Larger pipes have a cut-out petal that can be twisted or twisted slightly to adjust the tone. 
The largest pipes emit infrasound from 8 Hz, the smallest – ultrasound. 
A unique feature of the MMDM organ is the presence of horizontal pipes facing the hall. 
I took the previous shot from a small balcony that you can access from inside the organ. It is used to adjust horizontal pipes. View auditorium from this balcony. 
A small number of pipes are only electrically driven. 
The organ also has two sound registers or “special effects”. These are “bells” - the ringing of seven bells in a row and “birds” - the chirping of birds, which occurs due to air and distilled water. Pavel Nikolaevich demonstrates how the “bells” work. 
Amazing and very complex instrument! The Constellation system goes into parking mode, and here I end the story about the largest musical instrument in our country. 
