Main work (organ)

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Centrally the main structure under the smaller upper structure and above the Rückpositiv, flanked by the two pedal towers ( Lübeck Cathedral )

The main work (English: great organ ; French: grand orgue ; Italian: grand 'organo ; Spanish: gran organo ; Dutch: hoofdwerk ) is the fundamental work of an organ . Structurally, it is arranged centrally between other sub-plants. As a rule, it houses the most and deepest registers of the manuals, making it the most powerful and largest manual. The sound of the principal choir , which together with the mixed voices forms the plenum, is characteristic.

history

The need to linguistically differentiate between the various works of the organ has only existed since the late Gothic period , when multi-manual instruments emerged. From the 14th century, organs were built with two manuals and a pedal and from the 15th century, when the Rückpositiv was invented, with three manuals.

Before the invention of the slider chests and spring chests in the 14th century, which only allowed the separate play of individual registers, the main work was built as a block work . In this noisy principal work, the principals sounded together with the multi-choir mixtures and cymbals . In the late Gothic period it was referred to as “the great work”, “the principal work” or “le grant ouvraige”. The secondary works (Oberwerk, Brustwerk and Rückpositiv) were in tonal contrast to the Hauptwerk, which was achieved through the use of higher registers and other timbres such as flutes, aliquots and short-cup reeds .

Northern European organ building was dominated by the Dutch-North German organ type during the Renaissance and Baroque periods . With Arp Schnitger , the work principle reached its heyday. In spatially separated cases, the individual works develop their own sound. The Rückpositiv likes to reflect the main work in a reduced form and is also sonically equal to this with its own plenum. Of course, it sounds more immediate, slimmer and more brilliant due to its location, disposition and scaling .

Gottfried Silbermann , on the other hand, did not build any Rückpositive. Instead, on his instruments, the upper work stands alongside the main work as a “large” positive, while a third manual is dynamically clearly graduated and is characterized by a different sound character. According to Silbermann, the main work should sound “grave”, the upper work “sharp and penetrating”, the chest “delicate and lovely” and the pedal work “strong and penetrating”. So while in classical organ building a secondary work should come close to the main work, the other manual works took a back seat.

In romantic organ building , this principle was abandoned from the second half of the 19th century, and there was a dynamic graduation with the loudest registers on the first manual and the weakest on the top manual. Even in organ building in southern Germany, the positive is not equivalent to the main work and has flute parts instead of the principal choir.

sound

The main work has most of the principal registers among the manuals. It is mostly based on the principal in an eight- foot position (8 ′), which traditionally stands with the visible pipes in the prospectus . Smaller organs are based on the principle 4 ', which is only half as long as the 8' and sounds accordingly an octave higher. Large organs have a principal 16 ′ as a base. The sound crowns with the principal choir form the "full work", the typical organo-pleno sound . The “silver sound” of the mixtures is joined by the radiant “gold sound” of the trumpets. Depending on the size and conception of the organ, flute parts (the wide choir) and long-cup tongue registers are added to enable solo play and a trio play with two equal manuals in the main work. String voices did not appear in organ building in North German-Dutch until the beginning of the 18th century and found wider acceptance in southern and central Germany. Principal aliquot registers can be found in baroque organ building, especially with smaller organs in the main work, where the sesquialtera serves as the third plenum and not as a solo part. With larger organs, the tertian is in the main work. While the fifth is built as 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ or 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′, the 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′ is common for the third ; in French Baroque organ building, on the other hand, the low third 3 1 ⁄ 5  ′, the “large tierce” with a wide scale.

In Italian organ building, the sound is largely dominated by various principal voices in the most varied of pitches (row organ). Flute parts are rarely built and reed parts are rarely built. In contrast, the Spanish organ building favored multi-manual instruments with various ancillary works. A special feature on the Iberian Peninsula are the so-called Spanish trumpets ( Lengüetería or Trompetería ) from around 1700, which protrude horizontally from the prospectus below the main work. For France, the expansion of the trumpet choir is characteristic, which reached its climax in the Romantic Age with Aristide Cavaillé-Coll . He invented the trompette harmonique with bell bells twice as long. In addition to the principal plenum ( plein jeu ), there is the tongue plenum ( grand jeu ) in the main work .

technology

Due to the high number of registers, the main work's wind chest is usually the largest. Sometimes registers from other works are also set up in the Hauptwerk housing. So the pedal registers can be accommodated here on small organs. The rear section is in the rear area of ​​the main unit's case if it does not have its own (open) case.

The central role of the main plant can also be recognized by the fact that the other plants can be linked to the main plant. Even if the pedal cannot be connected to all manual works by coupling , a coupling to the main work is usually created by default. If an organ does not have an independent pedal , it is attached to the main work or permanently attached.

In two-manual organs, the main work is usually played from the first (lower) manual. If there is a Rückpositiv, this is assigned to the lower manual due to the technical system so that the action does not cross over . On organs with three or more manuals, the second manual is often intended for the main work, even if there is no Rückpositiv.

As in England, the Spanish organs are placed in the coro (inner choir), the separate area behind the crossing , on the choir stalls between two columns, often in two symmetrical parts on the Gospel and Epistle side . As a result, instead of the breastwork, there is a rearwork, which is built behind the mainwork, and instead of the Rückpositiv there is a substation.

literature

  • Wolfgang Adelung: Introduction to organ building. 2nd Edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 978-3-7651-0279-0 .
  • Hans Klotz : The book of the organ . 9th edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1979, ISBN 3-7618-0080-0 .
  • Hans Klotz: About the organ art of the Gothic, the Renaissance and the Baroque. Music, disposition, mixtures, lengths, registration, use of the pianos . 3. Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1986, ISBN 3-7618-0775-9 .
  • Maarten Albert Vente : The Brabant Organ. On the history of organ art in Belgium and Holland in the Gothic and Renaissance ages . HJ Paris, Amsterdam 1963.
  • Harald Vogel : Small organ studies. Shown on the model of the Führer organ in the old reformed church in Bunde (= contributions to organ culture in Northern Europe. Vol. 2). 2nd Edition. Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 2008, ISBN 978-3-7959-0899-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Vente: The Brabant Organ. 1963, p. 12.
  2. ↑ Klotz: The book of the organ. 1992, p. 184.
  3. ↑ Frank-Harald Greß : The sound shape of Gottfried Silbermann's organs. Breitkopf, Leipzig / Wiesbaden 1989, ISBN 3-923639-78-3 , p. 40.
  4. ↑ Klotz: The book of the organ. 1992, p. 64.
  5. ↑ Klotz: About the organ art of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. 1986, p. 205.
  6. ^ A b Rainer Cadenbach: main work. In: Metzler Sachlexikon Musik. Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01544-0 , p. 392, limited preview in the Google book search
  7. ^ Adelung: Introduction to organ building. 1992, p. 195.
  8. ↑ Klotz: The book of the organ. 1992, p. 81.
  9. ^ Roland Eberlein : Organ register. Their names and their history. Siebenquart, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-941224-00-1 , p. 646.
  10. ↑ a b Greifenstein Institute for Musical Instruments: History of Spanish Organ Construction , accessed on April 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Roland Eberlein: Organ register. Their names and their history. Siebenquart, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-941224-00-1 , p. 295.
  12. ↑ Vogel: Brief organ studies. 2008, p. 10.