Pipeline Press
  • HOME
  • Books
    • Organs and Organists
    • Organ-isms Anecdotes Book
    • Organist at your service
    • Puzzle Book >
      • Grids
      • Puzzle Images
      • Errata
      • Solutions >
        • Alphabet soup
        • A-mazing tuner
        • Crosswords
        • Letter Ladders
        • Plain Difficult
        • Ring the Changes
        • Logic Problems
        • Spot the difference
        • Sudoku
        • Tricky Passages
        • Word Search
    • Looking Up
    • The Organ's Prayer
    • Olivier Latry in conversation
    • Paradisus Musicus
  • Recordings
    • Resounding Aftershocks CD
    • Organ Capers
  • Organists In the kitchen
    • RECIPE INDEX >
      • Gillian Weir
      • Dianne Halliday
      • Martin Doering-in English
      • Martin Doering-in German
      • Irmtraud Tarr
      • Robin Peirce
      • Hannah Parry
      • Birger Petersen
      • Marie-Louise Langlais
      • Thierry Mechler
      • Nina De Sole
      • Martin Setchell
      • Roberto Bertero
      • Carson Cooman
      • Ronald Watson
      • Katherine Dienes-Williams
      • Grimoaldo Macchia
      • Alexander Kellarev
      • Dorothy Young Riess
      • Andreas Willscher
      • Katelyn Emerson
      • Agnes Armstrong
      • Michael Barone
      • Claudius Winterhalter
      • Titus Grenyer
      • Alison Clark
      • Paul Spicer
      • Christiane Sauter-Pflomm
      • James Kibbie
      • James Flores
      • Inoue Hiroko​
      • Barry Jordan
      • Gareth Perkins
      • Thomas Ospital
    • Notes on weights and measures
  • Newsletters
  • Gifts
  • Articles & Reviews
    • Book & CD reviews >
      • Bevington
      • Booths of Wakefield
      • The Organ of Saint Sulpice, Paris
      • Messaien - Pierre Pincemaille
      • The Music of Ripon Cathedral
      • The Nordic - Baltic Organ Book
      • A Life in Music
      • Franck played by Pincemaille
      • Mystical vision
      • Noëls of Louis-Claude Daquin
      • Homage à Daniel Roth
      • Bach's complete works
      • Organ works of JPE Hartmann
      • The Box of Whistles ​by John Norman
      • Kristiaan Seynhave plays César Franck
      • Bach Orgelwerke played by Michael Radulescu
      • Le Grand Cavaillé-Coll de la Cathédrale d’Angers
      • The Organs and Organists of Ludlow Parish Church
      • The Hakims at Sacré Coeur
    • 2002 >
      • Alfred Hollins
      • Snetzler-1
      • Snetzler-2
      • Organ Voices
      • Organ Blowers 1
      • Organ Blowers 2
      • Organ Blowers 3
      • Organ Cases
      • Organ Cases 2
      • Organ Cases 3
    • 2003 >
      • Organ Cases 4
      • Architects and organ builders
      • Plain vanilla or chocolate?
      • Canterbury Cousins
      • Blenheim Palace and elsewhere
      • Ornament - applied and misapplied
      • Of hats and arms
      • Invisible organs
      • Organ Anthology
      • Organ Anthology Part 2
      • Ghosts
    • 2004 >
      • Spanish Fly
      • The Wonderful Woofyt
      • Mine's bigger than yours
      • Flames, frets and fiddles
      • Angelicals
      • Telegram from America
      • Booth's Puffs
      • Barker Lever
      • Bettering Barker
      • Alternative Hymn Book
      • Tale of Two Organs
      • Tale of Two Organs (continued)
      • Guitarists do it better
      • Music for the feast of Christmas
    • 2005 >
      • The art of improvisation
      • Records and Reminiscences
      • The Case is Altered
      • Fashion Notes
      • Two town Halls - Sydney & Reading
      • The organ that time and men forgot
      • Edward Heath
      • Tin Whistles
      • Secrets of the Opera
      • Singing in the train
      • Buttoning up
    • 2006 >
      • Automobile blues
      • Pipes and packing cases
      • Harry remembers
      • Harry remembers 2
      • Bismarck and the pipe organ
      • Harry remembers 3
      • Playing Aids 1
      • Playing Aids 2
      • Connections
    • 2007 >
      • The birthday Present
      • Harry Remembers 4
      • Playing Aids 3
      • Wonder of Gascony
      • Gilding the Lily
      • A Most Eloquent Music
      • Seeing Double - Part 1
      • Seeing Double - Part 2
      • Humble Relations - American branch
      • Humble Relations - French branch
      • Tops, Noils, Shoddy and Mungo
      • Tops, Noils, and Handel's Messiah
    • 2008 >
      • Neanderthal Hymn Writer
      • Brindley and Foster Byway
      • The demise of Brindley and Foster
      • Flying High
      • Dorothea, Queen of Denmark - and an organ​
      • Time's Ever-Rolling Stream
    • 2009 >
      • Giving them names
      • Dudley Savage
      • Three organ cases
      • Henery's finest hour
      • Sneezes from the Organ Loft
      • 20th Century Organists
      • Philip Marshall Part 2
      • Part 2 20th Century organists
      • More sneezes from the organ loft
      • Country church curiosity
    • 2010 >
      • The Italian Face of Salzburg
      • Ladies at the Console
      • Gothic organ cases
      • Gothick organ cases
      • Orders and decorations
      • Organs-in-fiction
      • Christmas-recipes
    • 2011 >
      • Oddments and Oddities
      • Memorials and Monuments
      • A Cunning Player - King David
      • Facing the Music
      • Celestial Bands
      • Look-Up
      • Durham-Degrees
    • 2013 >
      • Archibald McIndoe
      • Brigadier-Wagthorpe
    • 2017 >
      • Transports of Delight
  • JIGSAW PUZZLES
  • Competitions
  • Sheet music
  • Photos
  • Calendars
  • Links
  • Blog
  • About Us - and other info
    • Contact Us
    • Search
    • NZOrgan
    • Part 1 of Jenny's earthquake story
    • Part 2 of Jenny's earthquake story
    • Shipping >
      • Returns & refunds
      • Privacy policy
Previous
Index
Next

A tourist 'supervises' Martin Setchell as he rehearses in Altenberg Cathedral
A tourist 'supervises' Martin Setchell as he rehearses in Altenberg Cathedral

Sneezes from the Organ Loft

Tiptoe up to the console and learn what so fascinates organ buffs

There are two methods by which the curious approach organ consoles. The direct is to make a purposeful bee-line, interrupting the performer with a cough, question or even a tap on the shoulder.
A subtle variation is to stand directly behind the organ bench, staring fixedly into the mirror until the unnerved played stops practising, resigned to the inevitable interruption. The indirect method is to move about the building, engrossed in contemplation of stained-glass window, or, in the case of a town hall perhaps, the portrait of a former mayor. This perambulation ceases, with a start of apparent surprise, near the console. From there, fate takes over. The fortunate can forget windows and paintings as they are invited to try out the instrument: those less lucky at least get a general idea of the organ.
In the English-speaking world, most consoles bear close resemblance to that in picture 1 — though with infinite variety in detail and size. This one is at Arundel Roman Catholic Cathedral (UK) The organ on its gallery is shown in picture 2. Those who see the strong French influence in the architecture will not be surprised when they see the exterior — picture 3.
The building, though not, perhaps the organ case, might easily have been transported from Northern France. This association with France was strengthened by the work in the Arundel diocese of the late Maurice Couve de Murville, first as priest and later as bishop. His cousin and namesake was Foreign Minister in the governments of President de Gaulle.

Those who wander into parts of Europe — and, it is said, of South America — remote from industrialisation, find different traditions of organ-building and some very interesting survivals from earlier centuries. 

Picture 4 is of an organ at Klosterneuberg Abbey, Austria. Those iron sliders that operate the stops were probably old-fashioned when it was built by Johann Georg Freundt in 1642. Changes of registration, except when the organ is silent, must be rare. At least these levers appear to be straightforward in operation, though care would have to be taken to ensure that each is fully home at the end of each upward or downward stroke: half-drawn stops, as organists - and congregations have found for themselves, sound frightful. A variation that has been reported elsewhere is for the levers to be returned to the off position by necessarily-powerful springs: when moved to the on position they are locked by being moved sideways into notches. Apart from requiring much strength, these can give the registrant painfully-bruised knuckles if they're not grasped firmly. 
1: Arundel Roman Catholic Cathedral organ console
1: Arundel Roman Catholic Cathedral organ console
The Arundel organ on its gallery
2: The Arundel organ on its gallery
3: exterior of Arundel Catholic Cathedral
3: Exterior of Arundel Catholic Cathedral
Console in Klosterneuberg Abbey
4: Console in Klosterneuberg Abbey
Heiligenkreuz Abbey chancel organ
5: Heiligenkreuz Abbey chancel organ
Other points of interest in this organ are the short-compass of the claviers, and the quantities of dust! Critics of the organ (and such reprehensible persons exist) have suggested that it is most effective as a device to gather dust and deposit this in organ lofts.
Picture 5 is of another Austrian instrument – the 1746 chancel organ at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Winmola. As at Klosterneuberg, the pedals appear to descend only to EEE (are manual keys here later replacements?). Stop knobs protruding through the marquetry panelling beside the console form an unusual feature. Perhaps this offered a simpler and lighter stop action than one placing registers above the manual. Panelling of wall and of console seem to be all of a piece, perhaps of the same date. Such variations, major and minor, sustain the interest of the organ lover.

This is, of course, often incomprehensible to others. So are most enthusiasms. Some time ago, I was talking to a vet. A spider appeared on his desk, possibly to book a professional consultation. It seemed to me to be an ordinary spider, one to be removed to the outdoors, quickly and unharmed, before it could start spinning webs, but worthy of no special remark. Not so to the vet, who seemed to enter an ecstatic trance. “Look at those markings on its back - and its colour – and the size of the mandibles!” It may not have been mandibles – something entomological, anyway. But perhaps entomology has nothing to do with arachnids.​
Enthusiasms are certainly unaccountable.
David Bridgeman-Sutton, May, 2009

Picture Credits: Thanks to Philip Wells for all article pictures. The headline picture showing a fascinated onlooker watching Martin Setchell at Altenberg Dom is by Jenny Setchell.
Picture

looking for SOMETHING?

Books
Recordings
Printed music
​
Photographs
Gifts
​Calendars
​Blog
​
Links

Puzzle book grids and solutions
(Free registration & log in required)
GENERAL INFO
Contact
About Us
​
Search
​


Our earthquake stories

Support

Shipping
Returns and refunds
Privacy and Cookie declaration

© COPYRIGHT 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.