Chest organs


Orgelmakerij Van der Putten BV
Hoofdweg 99 9684 CC
Finsterwolde
Nederland

Tel: +31 (0)597 331472 mobiel: +31 (0)6 22909479
Fax: +31 (0)597 331527

e-mail: info@orgelmakerij.nl

General Information

    These instruments have been designed primarily for use as continuo instruments by ensembles and choirs; in addition, the literature for one-manual organs can be played on them. The organs are not copies of historical models, but rather new instruments built according to the traditions of North-European organ builders of the 17th and 18th centuries.
As a matter of course, only natural materials are used [in their construction]. All parts (except the blower, which is electric) are made in our own workshop.

The chest organs are designed for [the greatest possible] ease of transport. There are no parts that stick out and that might be easily damaged. * The bottom part of the case contains the blower in a soundproofed box, the bellows, and the largest 8' pipes. * The top part contains the wind chest, the keyboard, the action, and the rest of the pipes. All the pipes can be reached easily from the front, making the instrument conveniently tunable by one person.

The Case and the Action

    We have chosen Lebanon cedar for the case. This type of wood has excellent tonal characteristics and is very little influenced by changes of climate. In addition, it looks quite handsome. Most of the interior and the action are made of Western red cedar, which is also climatologically very stable. This is of great importance since these instruments must be able to be transported frequently from damp churches, for example, to dry living rooms. Without adequate attention to construction and type of wood, the organ would not stay well in tune and would be susceptible to all manner of other defects.

The natural keys are covered with bone; the sharps are made of cherry and covered with ebony. The key frame and carved cheek pieces are also of cherry.     The whole keyboard can be shoved into the instrument for transport. It can also be shoved to the left or right in order to transpose. The small and medium-sized models can be played at four different pitches: a = 390 / 415 / 440 / 460 Hz. Because of the larger tonal specification, the large model is playable at only two pitches: a = 415 / 440 Hz. The small model has a range of C-c'''; the other models have a range of C-f'''.

    The whole range of the keyboard is available in all transpositions, because there are one or three extra pipes (with the required action) built in.

The small and medium-sized chest organs can be provided with subsemitones (split sharps) for d#/e= and g#/a= in the tenor, middle, and treble octaves. If this option is chosen, the range of the middle-sized model will be C-c''' instead of C-f''', because of the limited space available. However, this smaller range is sufficient for works needing mean tone tuning, for which these subsemitones may be useful. For safe transportation of these chest organs we are able to provide [sturdy] "flight cases" which are made exactly to our specifications.

Wind System and Voicing

    The wind system is so designed that, while both the blower and the bellows fit inside the lower case, the demands of musically sensitive performance are satisfied. A different design has been developed for the smaller and the other two models:
- the small chest organ has a horizontal reservoir with the blower standing next to it in a soundproofed box;
- the medium-sized chest organ and the large chest organ have a system consisting of two stacked wedge-shaped bellows, one hinged on the left, the other on the right. They are so arranged that the top board of the lower bellows is also the bottom board of the upper bellows. The three bellows boards (bottom frame - middle frame- top frame) are connected by two regulators. This design has the important advantage that the top board cannot flutter uncontrolledly.
    A organ's wind should "breathe" without being restless. The more registers a small organ has, the more difficult it is to keep the wind controllable. When the organ's "breath" is good, the pipes will achieve their best speech. For this reason we use a low wind pressure (ca. 40-45 mm). The voicing strives to achieve a free and relaxed sound which carries well. It is by no means necessary that the sound be loud in order to be heard clearly at a considerable distance. So our voicing techniques are directed toward letting each pipe speak as naturally as possible according to its individual character. In general we use open toe holes and relatively high cutups.

    The scaling is also in conformity with the above tonal goals. We do not copy historical scaling uncritically, but rather orient ourselves toward historical scaling systems. A register which sounds perfect in an old organ might be quite disappointing in a new instrument which has to serve in different circumstances. The design of the whole chest organ, from start to finish, must therefore be based on a unified conception.

Specifications of the chest organs

I.    THE SMALL CHEST ORGAN

Holpijp Compass Pitch Dimensions

8'

C-c"' a= 390-415-440-460 bottom : top : flight case bottom: flight case top: Weight of bottom: Weight of top: Weight of flight cases:

red cedar, stopped 42 x 85,5 x 40,5 cm 42 x 85,5 x 45 cm 48 x 91,5 x 46,5 cm 48 x 91,5 x 51 cm ± 24 kg ± 26 kg ± 12 kg each

(d x w x h)      ,,      ,,      ,,

II.     THE MEDIUM-SIZED CHEST ORGAN

1. 2. 3a. 3b.

Holpijp Fluit Fluit Traverso Compass: Pitch: Registers divided: Dimensions:

8' 4' 2' 8'

bas-treble bas-treble bas-treble treble C-f"' a= 390-415-440-460 at b-c' when keyboard is placed at a= 415 hz bottom: top: flight case bottom: flight case top: Weight bottom: Weight top: Weight of flight cases:

red cedar, stopped red cedar, C-d# stopped, e-f" chimney flute, f#"-f"' open. bass: red cedar treble: Lebanon cedar C-b stopped, c'-f"'open Lebanon cedar, open 58 x 95,5 x 40,5 cm 58 x 95,5 x 45 cm 64 x 101 x 46,5 cm 64 x 101 x 51 cm ± 39 kg ± 44 kg ± 12 kg each

(d x w x h)      ,,      ,,      ,,

This chest organ is available in two variants; the choice must be made before the work begins, since the construction of the interior and the chest layout are completely different.

Version I

Version II

1. 2. 3.

Holpijp Fluit Fluit

8' 4' 2'

b/d b/d b/d

1. 2. 3.

Holpijp Fluit Traverso

8' 4' 8'

b/d b/d d

III.    THE LARGE CHEST ORGAN

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Holpijp Traverso Fluit Nasard Fluit Ranket Compass: Pitch: Registers divided: Dimensions:

8' 8' 4' 3' 2' 8'

bas-disc. from tenor e bas-disc. bas-disc. bas-disc. bas-disc. C-f"' a= 415-440 at b-c' when keyboard is placed at a= 415 hz top: bottom: flight case bottom: flight case top: Weight bottom: Weight top: Weight of flight cases:

red cedar, stopped Lebanon cedar, open red cedar C-d# stopped, e-f" chimneyed, f#"-f"' open. red cedar C-b stopped, c'-c'' chimneyed, c#''-f'' open bass:red cedar disc.: Lebanon cedar C-b stopped, c'-f'' open boot block, blocks and resonators made from one piece of Lebanon cedar, brass duckbill shallots 58 x 100 x 45 cm 58 x 100 x 53 cm 64 x 106 x 51 cm 64 x 106 x 60 cm ± 55 kg ± 48 kg ± 14 kg each

(d x w x h)      ,,      ,,      ,,

The basses of the Holpijp 8' and the Fluit 4' are divided at two places: when the stop is half drawn, only the notes C-d# sound; fully drawn, the whole bass is playable. This makes these basses usable with the Traverso 8', which begins at tenor e. When using this register alone, the bass of the Holpijp can be drawn; when both 8' stops are drawn, the lowest octave can be strengthened by adding the bass of the 4' Fluit.


We will be happy to arrange for you to see and play one of our chest organs. Every instrument is guaranteed for 10 years, according to the terms of the Vereniging van Orgelbouwers in Nederland (V.O.N.). Price quotations are valid for six months. Delivery date will be agreed upon when the contract is signed.




"Hear an example of a chest organ"(2,75 mb)