Thunder (organ)

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The thunder is an effect register of the organ that produces a sound similar to the rumble of thunder.

Usually the lowest five to six pipes of the pedal (usually a 16 'register) are played simultaneously as a cluster ; the effect is also intensified by the force of wind that usually occurs .

A practical device for generating a thunder is the thunder board , which is dimensioned in such a way that it lets all pipes of the lower octave of the pedal lower keys sound simultaneously. The organist pushes the board down with both feet. In the notes it is marked with a wavy line similar to the trill. A limitation in practice: the board only works without problems with straight or not curved pedal keyboards.

A literary example is the Grand jeu avec le tonnerre by the French composer Michel Corrette in his Suite du 2e ton from 1787.

The thunder effect has been handed down since the baroque era, but has mostly found widespread use in cinema organs . Today it no longer plays a role as a stand-alone register, as this effect can also be created manually and in some cases has even flowed into modern organ music and improvisation as a compositional principle .

There is a thunder on the Klais organ of the Benedictine abbey Schweiklberg (Lower Bavaria). In spring 2007 the Klais company installed a 64 'thunder (acoustic from contraposaune 32' and labial 21 13 ') in the Altenberg cathedral organ .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roland Eberlein : Organ register. Their names and their history . 3. Edition. Siebenquart, Cologne 2016, ISBN 978-3-941224-00-1 , p. 161 .