The organ is the embodiment of grandeur and greatness; it is rightly called the “king” in the world of music. This is the only instrument whose resonator is often the room itself, and not a wooden body. Its closest relatives are not the piano and grand piano, as it might seem, but the flute and button accordion.
This stunning instrument is magnificent in everything: a powerful sound that does not leave the listener indifferent, an inspiring appearance that amazes with its scale, unusualness and a certain antique charm, as well as the complexity and intricacy of its design.
Organ structure
The instrument has a rather complex structure, consisting of a huge number of different elements: pipes, manuals, pedal keyboard, bellows, filters and electric compressors (in the old days they were replaced by people - up to 10 people), registers with switches and much more.
The console, or pulpit, is the place from which the musician controls the instrument, contains manuals, a pedal keyboard, various switches, etc.
Manual – manual keyboard. One organ can have up to seven such manuals.
Register – a certain number of pipes belonging to the same “family”; they are united by timbre similarity. Register combinations are called “copulas” (from Latin - “bundles”, “connections”). At the request of customers, craftsmen can add separate registers to the organ that imitate the sound of a specific instrument.
The pedal keyboard is a foot keyboard and looks the same as a manual one. With its help, the performer controls the bass pipes. To play the pedal keyboard, organists wear specially made “sensitive” and tight shoes with very thin soles.
Organ pipes are metal, wooden and wood-metal hollow pipes of different lengths, diameters and shapes. According to the method of sound production, they are divided into “reed” and “lobbial”. The instrument can contain up to 10 thousand such pipes, the largest of them are bass ones, their height can reach up to 10 meters, and their weight can reach up to 500 kg. Sometimes the instrument's lowest sounds are given a name, such as "whale voice."
The organ also contains a foot roller that connects and disconnects the registers, so you can play a crescendo or diminuendo, since the organ manuals themselves are not sensitive - the volume of the sound does not depend on the force of pressing the key, as in a piano, for example.
Facade, visible to the audience the side of the organ is only a small part of it, the rest of the “contents” are behind the wall. Despite the external strength of organ pipes, they are still quite easy to bend, so strangers are rarely allowed “inside” the instrument.
Abstracts are special thin wooden slats that connect the keys to the pipe valves. Some of them can reach a height of 13 meters.
The largest organ in the world is located in the American city of Atlantic City in concert hall Boardwalk Hall. The instrument has thirty-three thousand pipes and one thousand two hundred keys.
Air is forced into the pipes by fans that rotate electric motors with a power of 600 hp. With. State of the organ at the moment not working. In 1944, it was damaged during a hurricane, and in 2001, workers negligently destroyed part of the main pipes. The organ is subject to restoration, but this will take several years.
Etymology of the name of the instrument
Translated from ancient Greek, “organum” means “weapon” or “instrument”. And in medieval Rus'“An organ” was called “every sounding vessel.”
Historical information
The organ is one of the most ancient instruments. Exact date its occurrence cannot be determined. In the II century. BC Greek master Ctesebius, was organ invented, playing using hydraulics - pumping air with a water press. And in the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Nero (1st century), the instrument was depicted on coins.
The most ancient predecessor of the organ is considered to be the Pan flute, which has a similar structure - connected tubes of various lengths, each of which produces a sound of a certain pitch. Then, having decided to improve the system, they added bellows that pump air and a keyboard in which the number of keys coincided with the number of pipes.
These were hand organs that musicians wore on a shoulder strap, pumping air into the bellows with one hand and playing a melody with the other; nearby, on a special stand, there were pipes into which air was supplied under pressure.
Medieval organs were not distinguished by the fineness of their manufacture - the size of the keys reached 5-7 cm, and the distance between them was sometimes 1.5 - 2 cm.
Therefore, they played on such a keyboard not with their fingers, as on a modern instrument, but with their fists and elbows, exerting considerable effort.
The organ became a widespread instrument after its introduction in the 7th century. Catholic liturgical practice. During this same period, organs evolved from small transport instruments carried on carts to large stationary musical “instruments” installed in churches.
In subsequent eras, the organ was gradually improved (Italian and German masters made a special contribution to its development), which continues until today– new developments are being introduced in order to make the instrument even more convenient to use and increase its functionality.
Varieties
Depending on the principle of operation, the following types of organs are distinguished:
- Brass;
- Strings;
- Theater;
- Mechanical;
- Electronic;
- Steam;
- Hydraulic;
- Digital
The role of the “king” of instruments in musical art
Since the time of its origin, the organ has occupied a certain place in cultural life humanity, having varying degrees of popularity and importance depending on the historical era. The heyday, or “golden age of the organ,” is considered to be the Baroque era - XVII-XVIII centuries. During this period, such great composers as Bach, Buxtehude, Frescobaldi and others worked.
Also, the organ plays a different role in Eastern and Western Europe, or, to be more precise, in Orthodox and Catholic countries.
If in Western European Catholic countries, in each city there can be up to several hundred organs located in churches, then in Orthodox countries it is a concert instrument, which is not available in every city. But here, during organ performances, the halls are crowded with people who want to enjoy the luxurious organ sound.
It is impossible to find two identical organs, so this instrument is literally unique. The pipes of some specimens are capable of emitting ultra and infrasounds that cannot be detected by human hearing.
The organ is an instrument that has such unique and inimitable capabilities for simulating and combining different timbres that even the most simple melody“performed by him” turns into chic piece of music, the brightness of perception of which is enhanced by the power of sound and the bewitching appearance of the instrument.
Video
Watch the video below to listen and enjoy the sound of the instrument.
This keyboard wind instrument, according to the figurative characteristics of V.V. Stasov, “... it is especially typical to embody in musical images and forms the aspirations of our spirit for the colossal and infinitely majestic; He alone has those stunning sounds, those thunders, that majestic voice speaking as if from eternity, the expression of which is impossible for any other instrument, for any orchestra.”
On the stage of the concert hall you see the facade of an organ with part of the pipes. Hundreds of them are located behind its façade, arranged in tiers up and down, right and left, and extending in rows into the depths of the vast room. Some pipes are positioned horizontally, others vertically, and some are even suspended on hooks. In modern organs, the number of pipes reaches 30,000. The largest are more than 10 m high, the smallest are 10 mm. In addition, the organ has an air injection mechanism - bellows and air ducts; the department where the organist sits and where the instrument control system is concentrated.
The sound of the organ makes a huge impression. The giant instrument has many different tones. It's like a whole orchestra. In fact, the range of the organ exceeds that of all instruments in the orchestra. This or that color of the sound depends on the structure of the pipes. A set of pipes of a single timbre is called a register. Number of them in large instruments reaches 200. But the main thing is that the combination of several registers gives rise to a new color of sound, a new timbre, not similar to the original one. The organ has several (from 2 to 7) manual keyboards - manuals, arranged in a terrace-like manner. They differ from each other in timbre coloring and register composition. A special keyboard is a foot pedal. It has 32 keys for toe and heel playing. Traditionally, the pedal is used as the lowest voice, the bass, but sometimes it also serves as one of the middle voices. There are also register switching levers on the lectern. Usually the performer is assisted by one or two assistants; they switch registers. The newest instruments use a “memory” device, thanks to which you can select a certain combination of registers in advance and at the right moment, by pressing a button, make them sound.
Organs have always been built for a specific location. The masters provided for all its features, acoustics, dimensions, etc. Therefore, there are no two identical instruments in the world, each is a unique creation of the master. One of the best is the organ of the Dome Cathedral in Riga.
Organ music is written on three staves. Two of them fix a batch of manuals, one for the pedal. The notes do not indicate the registration of the work: the performer himself looks for the most expressive techniques to reveal artistic image essays. Thus, the organist becomes, as it were, a co-author of the composer in the instrumentation (registration) of the work. The organ allows you to stretch out a sound or a chord for as long as you like at a constant volume. This feature of his acquired its artistic expression in the emergence of the organ point technique: with a constant sound in the bass, melody and harmony develop. Musicians on any instrument create dynamic nuance within each musical phrase. The color of the organ sound is unchanged regardless of the strength of the keystroke, so performers use special techniques to depict the beginning and end of phrases, and the logic of structure within the phrase itself. The ability to combine different timbres at the same time led to the composition of works for the organ of a predominantly polyphonic nature (see Polyphony).
The organ has been known since ancient times. The manufacture of the first organ is attributed to the mechanic from Alexandria Ctesibius, who lived in the 3rd century. BC e. It was a water organ - hydraulos. The pressure of the water column ensured the uniformity of air pressure entering the sounding pipes. Later, an organ was invented in which air was supplied into the pipes using bellows. Before the advent of the electric drive, air was pumped into the pipes by special workers - calcantes. In the Middle Ages, along with large organs, there were also small ones - regalis and portables (from the Latin “porto” - “carry”). Gradually the instrument was improved and by the 16th century. acquired an almost modern appearance.
Many composers wrote music for the organ. Organ art reached its highest peak at the end of the 17th - 1st half of the 18th century. in the works of such composers as I. Pachelbel, D. Buxtehude, D. Frescobaldi, G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach. Bach created works unsurpassed in depth and perfection. In Russia, M. I. Glinka paid significant attention to the organ. He played this instrument beautifully and made transcriptions of various works for it.
In our country, the organ can be heard in concert halls in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Riga, Tallinn, Gorky, Vilnius and many other cities. Soviet and foreign organists perform works not only by ancient masters, but also by Soviet composers.
Electric organs are also being built now. However, the principle of operation of these instruments is different: the sound arises due to electrical generators of various designs (see Electric musical instruments).
The king of instruments is the name often given to an organ whose appearance evokes a feeling of delight, and whose sound fascinates and inspires. A large, heavy stringed keyboard instrument with a wide range of sound, it is rightfully considered something of a “legend in the flesh.” Who invented the organ and what makes this heavyweight unique?
Who invented the unusual instrument?
The history of the legendary instrument, which not every professional musician can learn to play, goes back hundreds of centuries.
The name “organum” is mentioned in the ancient writings of the great Aristotle and Plato. But it is not possible to answer exactly who invented this miracle. According to one version, its ancestor is the Babylonian bagpipe, which produces sound by directing air jets towards the edges of the tube. On the other hand, there is a pan flute or a Chinese shen, which operate on the same principle. Playing pipes connected to each other was not very convenient, since the performer sometimes did not have enough air in his lungs. The idea of pumping air while playing with bellows was a real salvation.
The organ's close brother, its water counterpart, was invented by the Greek craftsman Ctesibius back in the 200s BC. It's called hydraulics. Later, the hydraulic design was replaced by bellows, which made it possible to significantly improve sound quality.
Musical instruments of more familiar sizes and appearance began to appear in the 4th century. During this period, thanks to the efforts of Pope Vitalian, organs began to be used to accompany Catholic services. Starting from the first half of the 5th century, the stringed keyboard instrument became an invariable ceremonial attribute not only of the Byzantine, but also of the entire Western European imperial power.
The legendary “keyboard player” became widespread in European countries by the middle of the 14th century. The instrument of that time was far from perfect: it had fewer pipes and wider keys. For example, in a manual keyboard, with the width of the keys themselves being about 50-70 mm, the distance between them was 15-20 mm. To extract sounds, the performer had to not “run” his fingers over the huge and heavy keys, but literally knock with his elbows or fists.
Organ building acquired its greatest scope in XVI-XVII centuries. In the famous Baroque era, craftsmen learned to create instruments that, with their powerful sound, could easily compete with an entire symphony orchestra. The sound capabilities of the instruments made it possible to imitate the ringing of bells, the roar of rockfalls, and even the deep singing of birds.
The apotheosis of organ building is rightfully considered to be 1908, when a model including 6 manuals was presented at the world exhibition. The world's largest working organ weighs just over 287 tons. It now graces the Macy's Lord & Taylor shopping center in Philadelphia.
What a connoisseur of organ music observes from the hall is the façade of the instrument. Behind it lies a spacious room, sometimes including several floors, filled with mechanical elements and thousands of tubes. To understand the principle of operation of this miracle, it is worth considering at least its brief description.
The organ is one of the loudest musical instruments. This effect is achieved through registers that include several rows of organ pipes. These registers, based on the color of their sound and a number of other unifying characteristics, are divided into several groups: mixtures, aliquots, gambas, flutes, principals. Register pipes sound in accordance with musical notation. They can be turned on individually or simultaneously. To do this, use the handles located on the side panels of the keyboard.
The control panel of the performer working at the instrument is the manuals, pedal keyboard and the registers themselves. The number of manuals, depending on the modification of the “keyboard player,” can vary from 1 to 7. They are located on a terrace: one directly above the other.
A pedal keyboard can include from 5 to 32 keys, through which the registers that form low sounds are activated. Depending on the fingering of the musical instrument, the performer presses the pedal keys with his toe or heel.
The presence of several keyboards, as well as all kinds of toggle switches and levers, makes the game process quite complicated. Therefore, often his assistant sits at the instrument with the performer. For ease of reading notes and achieving synchronized performance, the part for the feet is traditionally located on a separate staff directly below the part for the hands.
In modern models, the function of pumping air into the bellows is performed by electric motors. In the Middle Ages, this work was performed by specially trained calcantes, whose services had to be paid separately.
Despite the widespread use of organs, today it is almost impossible to find two identical models, since they are all assembled according to individual projects. The dimensions of installations can vary from 1.5 m to 15 m. The width of large models reaches 10 m, and the depth is 4 m. The weight of such structures is measured in tons.
Record holders in various nominations
The oldest representative of the legendary instrument, whose “life” dates back to 1370-1400, can be found in the Stockholm Museum. It was brought from a church parish on the Swedish island of Gotland.
The leader in the "loudest organ" category graces the Concord Hall in Atlantic City. The record holder includes 7 manuals and a fairly extensive timbre set, formed by 445 registers. You won’t be able to enjoy the sound of this giant, since its sound can cause listeners to rupture their eardrums. This musical instrument weighs over 250 tons.
The instrument, which adorns the Church of St. Anne, which is located in the Polish capital, is notable for containing the longest pipes in the world. Their height reaches about 18 meters, and the sound produced can literally deafen. The frequency range of the instrument is within limits that even cover the ultrasonic region.
Organ – ancient instrument. His distant predecessors were, apparently, bagpipes and pan flute. In ancient times, when there were no complex musical instruments yet, several reed pipes of different sizes began to be connected together - this is the Pan flute.
It was believed that it was invented by the god of forests and groves Pan. It is easy to play on one pipe: it needs a little air. But playing several at once is much more difficult - you don’t have enough breath. Therefore, already in ancient times, people were looking for a mechanism that could replace human breathing. They found such a mechanism: they began to pump air with bellows, the same as those that blacksmiths used to fan the fire in the forge.In the second century BC in Alexandria, Ctesebius (lat. Ctesibius, approximately 3rd - 2nd centuries BC) invented a hydraulic organ. Note that this Greek nickname literally means “Creator of Life” (Greek Ktesh-bio), i.e. simply the Lord God. This Ctesibius allegedly also invented a float water clock (which has not come down to us), a piston pump and a hydraulic drive
- long before the discovery of Torricelli's law (1608-1647). (In what conceivable way in the 2nd century BC was it possible to ensure the tightness necessary to create a vacuum in the Ctesibius pump? What material could the connecting rod mechanism of the pump be made of - after all, to ensure the sound of an organ, an initial excess pressure of at least 2 atm is required. ?).
In the hydraulic system, air was pumped not by bellows, but by a water press. Therefore, he acted more evenly, and the sound was better - smoother and more beautiful.
Hydraulos was used by the Greeks and Romans at hippodromes, in circuses, and also to accompany pagan mysteries. The sound of the hydraulic jet was unusually strong and piercing. In the first centuries of Christianity, the water pump was replaced by air bellows, which made it possible to increase the size of the pipes and their number in the organ.
Centuries passed, the instrument was improved. The so-called performance console or performance table appeared. There are several keyboards on it, located one above the other, and at the bottom there are huge keys for the feet - pedals that were used to produce the lowest sounds. Of course, the reed pipes - the flutes of Pan - were long forgotten. Metal pipes began to sound in the organ, and their number reached many thousands. It is clear that if each pipe had a corresponding key, then it would be impossible to play an instrument with thousands of keys. Therefore, register knobs or buttons were made above the keyboards. Each key corresponds to several dozen, or even hundreds of pipes, producing sounds of the same pitch but different timbre. They can be turned on and off with register knobs, and then, at the request of the composer and performer, the sound of the organ becomes similar to a flute, an oboe or other instruments; it can even imitate birdsong.
Already in the middle of the 5th century, organs were built in Spanish churches, but since the instrument still sounded loud, it was used only on major holidays.
By the 11th century, all of Europe was building organs. Unusual sizes there was a famous organ built in 980 in Wenchester (England). Gradually, the keys replaced the awkward large “plates”; The range of the instrument has become wider, the registers have become more diverse. At the same time, a small portable organ, the portable, and a miniature stationary organ, the positive, came into widespread use.
The Musical Encyclopedia states that the organ keys date back to the 14th century. were huge
- 30-33 cm long and 8-9 cm wide. The playing technique was very simple: these keys were hit with fists and elbows (German: Orgel schlagen). What sublime divinely inspired organ masses could be heard in Catholic cathedrals (it is believed that from the 7th century AD) with such a performance technique?? Or were they orgies?
17-18 centuries – “golden age” of organ building and organ performance.
The organs of this time were distinguished by their beauty and variety of sound; exceptional timbre clarity and transparency made them excellent instruments for performing polyphonic music.
Organs were built in all Catholic cathedrals and large churches. Their solemn and powerful sound perfectly suited the architecture of cathedrals with upward lines and high arches. The best musicians in the world served as church organists. Much excellent music was written for this instrument by various composers, including Bach. Most often they wrote for the “baroque organ,” which was more widespread than the organs of previous or subsequent periods. Of course, not all music created for the organ was cult music associated with the church.
So-called “secular” works were also composed for him. In Russia, the organ was only a secular instrument, since in the Orthodox Church, unlike the Catholic Church, it was never installed.
Since the 18th century, composers have included the organ in oratorios. And in the 19th century he appeared in opera. As a rule, this was caused by a stage situation - if the action took place in or near a temple. Tchaikovsky, for example, used the organ in the opera “The Maid of Orleans” in the scene of the solemn coronation of Charles VII. We also hear the organ in one of the scenes of Gounod's opera "Faust"
(scene in the cathedral). But Rimsky-Korsakov in the opera "Sadko" commissioned the organ to accompany the song of the Elder Mighty Hero, who interrupts the dance
Sea king. Verdi in the opera "Otello" uses the organ to imitate the sound of a sea storm. Sometimes the organ is included in the scores of symphonic works. With his participation, the Third Symphony of Saint-Saëns, the Poem of Ecstasy and “Prometheus” by Scriabin are performed; the symphony “Manfred” by Tchaikovsky also features an organ, although the composer did not foresee this. He wrote the harmonium part, which the organ often replaces there.
Romanticism of the 19th century, with its desire for expressive orchestral sound, had a dubious influence on organ construction and organ music; masters tried to create instruments that were an “orchestra for one performer,” but as a result, the matter was reduced to a weak imitation of an orchestra.
At the same time, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many new timbres appeared in the organ, and significant improvements were made in the design of the instrument.
The trend toward ever larger organs culminated in the enormous 33,112-pipe organ in Atlantic City, New York.
Jersey). This instrument has two chairs, and one of them has 7 keyboards. Despite this, in the 20th century. organists and organ builders realized the need to return to simpler and more convenient types of instruments.
The remains of the oldest organ-like instrument with a hydraulic drive were found in 1931 during excavations at Aquincum (near Budapest) and dated to 228 AD. e. It is believed that this city, which had a forced water supply system, was destroyed in 409. However, in terms of the level of development of hydraulic technology, this is the middle of the 15th century.
The structure of a modern organ.
The organ is a keyboard-wind musical instrument, the largest and most complex of existing tools. They play it like a piano, pressing the keys. But unlike the piano, the organ is not a stringed instrument, but a wind instrument, and its relative is not a keyboard instrument, but a small flute.
A huge modern organ consists of three or more organs, and the performer can control all of them simultaneously. Each of the bodies that are part of such a “ large organ", has its own registers (sets of pipes) and its own keyboard (manual). Pipes lined up in rows are located in the internal rooms (chambers) of the organ; Some of the pipes may be visible, but in principle all the pipes are hidden by a façade (avenue) consisting partly of decorative pipes. The organist sits at the so-called spiltish (cathedra), in front of him are the keyboards (manuals) of the organ, arranged in terraces one above the other, and under his feet is a pedal keyboard. Each of the organs included in
“large organ” has its own purpose and name; among the most common are “main” (German: Haupwerk), “upper”, or “overwerk”
(German: Oberwerk), “ruckpositive” (Rykpositiv), as well as a set of pedal registers. The “main” organ is the largest and contains the main registers of the instrument. The Ryukpositif is similar to the Main, but is smaller and softer sounding, and also contains some special solo registers. The “upper” organ adds new solo and onomatopoeic timbres to the ensemble; Pipes are connected to the pedal, producing low sounds to enhance the bass lines.
The pipes of some of their named organs, especially the "upper" and "rukpositive", are placed inside semi-closed louvers-chambers, which can be closed or opened using the so-called channel, resulting in the creation of crescendo and diminuendo effects that are not available on an organ without this mechanism. In modern organs, air is forced into the pipes using an electric motor; Through wooden air ducts, air from the bellows enters the vinladas - a system of wooden boxes with holes in the top lid. Organ pipes are reinforced with their “legs” in these holes. From the windlade, air under pressure enters one or another pipe.
Since each trumpet is capable of reproducing one pitch and one timbre, a standard five-octave manual requires a set of at least 61 pipes. In general, an organ can have from several hundred to many thousands of pipes. A group of pipes producing sounds of the same timbre is called a register. When the organist turns on the register on the pin (using a button or lever located on the side of the manuals or above them), access to all the pipes of that register is available. Thus, the performer can select any register he needs or any combination of registers.
There are different types of trumpets that create a variety of sound effects.
Pipes are made of tin, lead, copper and various alloys
(mainly lead and tin), in some cases wood is also used.
The length of the pipes can be from 9.8 m to 2.54 cm or less; The diameter varies depending on the pitch and timbre of the sound. Organ pipes are divided into two groups according to the method of sound production (labial and reed) and into four groups according to timbre. In labial pipes, sound is generated as a result of the impact of an air stream on the lower and upper lips of the “mouth” (labium) - a cut in the lower part of the pipe; in reed pipes, the source of sound is a metal reed vibrating under the pressure of an air stream. The main families of registers (timbres) are principals, flutes, gambas and reeds.
The principals are the foundation of all organ sound; flute registers sound calmer, softer and to some extent resemble orchestral flutes in timbre; gambas (strings) are more piercing and sharper than flutes; The reed timbre is metallic, imitating the timbres of orchestral wind instruments. Some organs, especially theater organs, also have percussion sounds, such as cymbals and drums.
Finally, many registers are constructed in such a way that their pipes produce not the main sound, but its transposition an octave higher or lower, and in the case of the so-called mixtures and aliquots - not even one sound, as well as overtones to the main tone (aliquots reproduce one overtone, mixtures – up to seven overtones).
Organ in Russia.
The organ, the development of which has since ancient times been associated with the history of the Western Church, was able to establish itself in Russia, in a country where the Orthodox Church prohibited the use of musical instruments during worship.
Kievan Rus (10th-12th centuries). The first organs in Russia, as well as in Western Europe, came from Byzantium. This coincided with the adoption of Christianity in Rus' in 988 and the reign of Prince Vladimir the Saint (c. 978-1015), with an era of especially close political, religious and cultural contacts between Russian princes and Byzantine rulers. The organ in Kievan Rus was a stable component of court and folk culture. The earliest evidence of an organ in our country is in the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, which, due to its long construction in the 11th-12th centuries. became the “stone chronicle” of Kievan Rus. There is a fresco of Skomorokha preserved there, which depicts a musician playing positively and two calcantes
(organ bellows pumpers), pumping air into the organ bellows. After death
During the Mongol-Tatar rule (1243-1480) of the Kyiv state, Moscow became the cultural and political center of Rus'.
Moscow Grand Duchy and Kingdom (15-17 centuries). In this era between
Moscow and Western Europe developed ever closer relations. So, in 1475-1479. Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti built
The Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, and Sophia's brother Paleologus, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI and since 1472 the wife of the king
Ivan III, brought organist John Salvator to Moscow from Italy.
The royal court of that time showed a keen interest in organ art.
This allowed the Dutch organist and organ builder Gottlieb Eilhof (the Russians called him Danilo Nemchin) to settle in Moscow in 1578. A written message from the English envoy Jerome Horsey was dated 1586 about the purchase of several clavichords and an organ built in England for Tsarina Irina Feodorovna, sister of Boris Godunov.
Organs have become widespread among common people.
Buffoons traveling around Rus' on portables. For a wide variety of reasons, which was condemned Orthodox Church.
During the reign of Tsar Mikhail Romanov (1613-1645) and further, up to
1650, except for Russian organists Tomila Mikhailov (Besov), Boris Ovsonov,
Melenty Stepanov and Andrey Andreev, foreigners also worked in the amusement chamber in Moscow: the Poles Jerzy (Yuri) Proskurovsky and Fyodor Zavalsky, the organ builders, the Dutch brothers Yagan (probably Johan) and Melchert Lun.
Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, from 1654 to 1685, Simon served at court
Gutowski, a “jack of all trades” musician of Polish origin, originally from
Smolensk. With his multifaceted activities, Gutovsky made a significant contribution to the development of musical culture. In Moscow he built several organs; in 1662, by order of the Tsar, he and four of his apprentices went to
Persia to donate one of his instruments to the Shah of Persia.
One of the most significant events in the cultural life of Moscow was the founding of the court theater in 1672, which was also equipped with an organ.
Gutovsky.
The era of Peter the Great (1682-1725) and his successors. Peter I was keenly interested in Western culture. In 1691, as a nineteen-year-old youth, he commissioned the famous Hamburg organ builder Arp Schnittger (1648-1719) to build an organ for Moscow with sixteen stops, decorated with walnut figures on top. In 1697, Schnitger sent another one to Moscow, this time an eight-register instrument for a certain Mr. Ernhorn. Peter
I, who sought to adopt all Western European achievements, among other things, commissioned the Görlitz organist Christian Ludwig Boxberg, who demonstrated to the king the new organ of Eugen Casparini in the church of St. Peter and Paul in Görlitz (Germany), installed there in 1690-1703, to design an even more grandiose organ for the Metropolitan Cathedral in Moscow. The designs for two dispositions of this “giant organ” for 92 and 114 registers were prepared by Boxberg ca. 1715. During the reign of the reformer tsar, organs were built throughout the country, primarily in Lutheran and Catholic churches.
In St. Petersburg, the Catholic Church of St. Catherine and the Protestant Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. For the latter, the organ was built by Johann Heinrich Joachim (1696-1752) from Mitau (now Jelgava in Latvia) in 1737.
In 1764, weekly concerts of symphonic and oratorio music began to be held in this church. Thus, in 1764, the royal court was captivated by the performance of the Danish organist Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau (1741 or 1742-1813). At the end
1770s, Empress Catherine II commissioned the English master Samuel
Green (1740-1796) construction of an organ in St. Petersburg, presumably for Prince Potemkin.
Famous organ builder Heinrich Adreas Kontius (1708-1792) from Halle
(Germany), mainly working in the Baltic cities, and also built two organs, one in St. Petersburg (1791), the other in Narva.
The most famous organ builder in Russia at the end of the 18th century was Franz Kirschnik
(1741-1802). Abbot Georg Joseph Vogler, who gave in April and May 1788 in St.
St. Petersburg, two concerts, after visiting the organ workshop, Kirshnik was so impressed by his instruments that in 1790 he invited his assistant master Rakwitz, first to Warsaw and then to Rotterdam.
The thirty-year activity of the German composer, organist and pianist Johann Wilhelm left a famous mark on the cultural life of Moscow.
Gessler (1747-1822). Gessler studied organ playing from a student of J. S. Bach
Johann Christian Kittel and therefore in his work adhered to the tradition of the Leipzig cantor of the Church of St. Thomas... In 1792 Gessler was appointed imperial court conductor in St. Petersburg. In 1794, he moved to
Moscow, gained fame as the best piano teacher, and thanks to numerous concerts dedicated to organ creativity J. S. Bach had a huge influence on Russian musicians and music lovers.
19th – early 20th century. In the 19th century Among the Russian aristocracy, interest in playing music on the organ in home conditions spread. Prince Vladimir
Odoevsky (1804-1869), one of the most remarkable personalities of Russian society, a friend of M. I. Glinka and the author of the first original works for organ in Russia, at the end of the 1840s invited the master Georg Mälzel (1807-
1866) for the construction of an organ, which went down in the history of Russian music as
“Sebastianon” (named after Johann Sebastian Bach). It was about a home organ, in the development of which Prince Odoevsky himself took part. This Russian aristocrat saw one of the main goals of his life in awakening interest among the Russian musical community in the organ and in the exceptional personality of J. S. Bach. Accordingly, the programs of his home concerts were primarily devoted to the work of the Leipzig cantor. Exactly from
Odoevsky also issued a call to the Russian public to gather cash for the restoration of the Bach organ in the Novof Church (now the Bach Church) in Arnstadt (Germany).
M. I. Glinka often improvised on Odoevsky’s organ. From the memoirs of his contemporaries we know that Glinka was endowed with outstanding improvisational talent. He highly appreciated the organ improvisations of Glinka F.
Sheet. During his tour in Moscow on May 4, 1843, Liszt gave an organ concert in Protestant Church St. Peter and Pavle.
It did not lose its intensity in the 19th century. and the activities of organ builders. TO
In 1856 there were 2,280 church bodies in Russia. German firms took part in the construction of organs installed in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the period from 1827 to 1854, Karl Wirth (1800-1882) worked in St. Petersburg as a piano and organ builder, who built several organs, among which one was intended for the Church of St. Catherine. In 1875 this instrument was sold to Finland. The English company Brindley and Foster from Sheffield supplied its organs to Moscow, Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, the German company Ernst Rover from Hausneindorf (Harz) built one of its organs in Moscow in 1897, the Austrian organ-building workshop of the brothers
Rieger erected several organs in churches in Russian provincial cities
(V Nizhny Novgorod- in 1896, in Tula - in 1901, in Samara - in 1905, in Penza - in 1906). One of the most famous organs of Eberhard Friedrich Walker with
1840 was in the Protestant Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. It was built on the model of the large organ built seven years earlier in the church of St. Paul in Frankfurt am Main.
A huge rise in Russian organ culture began with the founding of organ classes at the St. Petersburg (1862) and Moscow (1885) conservatories. A graduate of the Leipzig Conservatory, a native of Lübeck, Gerich Stihl (1829-
1886). His teaching activity in St. Petersburg lasted from 1862 to
1869. In the last years of his life he was the organist of the Olaya church in Tallinea Stihl and his successor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory lasted from 1862 to 1869. In the last years of his life he was the organist of the Olaya church in Tallinea Stihl and his successor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory Louis Gomilius (1845-1908 ), in their pedagogical practice they were guided primarily by the German organ school. In the early years, organ classes at the St. Petersburg Conservatory were held in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, and among the first organ students was P. I. Tchaikovsky. Actually, the organ appeared in the conservatory itself only in 1897.
In 1901, the Moscow Conservatory also received a magnificent concert organ. For a year this organ was an exhibition piece in
Russian pavilion of the World Exhibition in Paris (1900). In addition to this instrument, there were two more Ladegast organs, which in 1885 found their place in the Small Hall of the Conservatory. The larger of them was donated by a merchant and philanthropist
Vasily Khludov (1843-1915). This organ was in use at the conservatory until 1959. Professors and students regularly participated in concerts in Moscow and
Petersburg, and graduates of both conservatories also gave concerts in other cities of the country. Foreign performers also performed in Moscow: Charles-
Marie Widor (1896 and 1901), Charles Tournemire (1911), Marco Enrico Bossi (1907 and
1912).
Organs were also built for theaters, for example for the Imperial and for
Mariinsky theaters in St. Petersburg, and later for the Imperial Theater in Moscow.
Jacques was invited to succeed Louis Gomilius at the St. Petersburg Conservatory
Ganshin (1886-1955). A native of Moscow, and later a citizen of Switzerland and a student of Max Reger and Charles-Marie Widor, he headed the organ class from 1909 to 1920. It is interesting that organ music written by professional Russian composers, starting with Dm. Bortyansky (1751-
1825), combined Western European musical forms with traditional Russian melos. This contributed to the manifestation of special expressiveness and charm, thanks to which Russian works for organ stand out with their originality against the backdrop of the world organ repertoire. This also became the key to the strong impression that they make on the listener.
The organ is a musical instrument that is called the “king of music.” The grandeur of its sound is expressed in its emotional impact on the listener, which has no equal. In addition, the world's largest musical instrument is the organ, and it has the most advanced control system. Its height and length are equal to the size of the wall from the foundation to the roof in big building- a temple or concert hall.
The expressive resource of the organ allows you to create music for it with a wide range of content: from thoughts about God and the cosmos to subtle intimate reflections human soul.
The organ is a musical instrument with a unique history. Its age is about 28 centuries. In one article it is impossible to trace the great path of this instrument in art. We have limited ourselves to a short outline of the genesis of the organ from ancient times to those centuries when it acquired the appearance and properties known to this day.
The historical predecessor of the organ is the Pan flute instrument that has come down to us (named after the one who created it, as mentioned in the myth). The appearance of the Pan flute is dated to the 7th century BC, but the actual age is probably much older.
This is the name of a musical instrument consisting of reed tubes of different lengths placed vertically next to each other. Their side surfaces are adjacent to each other, and across they are united by a belt made of strong material or a wooden plank. The performer blows air from above through the holes of the tubes, and they sound - each at its own height. A true master of the game can use two or even three pipes at once to extract simultaneous sounds and obtain a two-voice interval or, with special skill, a three-voice chord.
The Pan Flute represents man's eternal desire for invention, especially in art, and the desire to improve the expressive capabilities of music. Before this instrument appeared on the historical stage, the most ancient musicians had at their disposal more primitive longitudinal flutes - simple pipes with holes for the fingers. Their technical capabilities were small. On a longitudinal flute it is impossible to produce two or more sounds at the same time.
The following fact also speaks in favor of the more perfect sound of the Pan flute. The method of blowing air into it is non-contact; the air stream is supplied by the lips from a certain distance, which creates a special timbre effect of mystical sound. All predecessors of the organ were wind instruments, i.e. used the controlled living power of breathing to create Subsequently, these features - polyphony and a ghostly-fantastic “breathing” timbre - were inherited in the sound palette of the organ. They are the basis unique ability organ sound - to put the listener into a trance.
Five centuries passed from the appearance of the Pan flute to the invention of the next predecessor of the organ. During this time, experts in wind sound production have found a way to infinitely increase the limited time of human exhalation.
In the new instrument, air was supplied using leather bellows - similar to those used by a blacksmith to pump air.
There is also the ability to automatically support two-voice and three-voice. One or two voices - the lower ones - continued to draw sounds without interruption, the pitch of which did not change. These sounds, called “bourdons” or “faubourdons,” were extracted without the participation of the voice, directly from the bellows through the holes open in them and were something like a background. Later they will receive the name “organ point”.
The first voice, thanks to the already known method of closing holes on a separate “flute-shaped” insert in the bellows, was able to play quite varied and even virtuoso melodies. The performer blew air into the insert with his lips. Unlike bourdons, the melody was extracted using the contact method. Therefore, there was no touch of mysticism in it - it was taken over by Bourdon echoes.
This instrument has gained great popularity, especially in folk art, as well as among traveling musicians, and began to be called bagpipes. Thanks to her invention, the future organ sound acquired an almost unlimited extension. While the performer pumps the air with the bellows, the sound does not interrupt.
Thus, three of the four future sound properties of the “king of instruments” appeared: polyphony, mystical uniqueness of timbre and absolute length.
Since the 2nd century BC. designs appear that are increasingly closer to the image of an organ. To pump air, the Greek inventor Ctesebius creates a hydraulic drive. This makes it possible to increase the sound power and provide the nascent colossal instrument with rather long sounding pipes. The hydraulic organ becomes loud and harsh to the ear. With such properties of sound, it is widely used in mass performances (hippodrome horse racing, circus shows, mysteries) among the Greeks and Romans. With the advent of early Christianity, the idea of pumping air through bellows returned again: the sound from this mechanism was more alive and “human”.
In fact, at this stage the main features of the organ sound can be considered formed: polyphonic texture, imperiously attracting attention, timbre, unprecedented length and special power, suitable for attracting a large mass of people.
The next 7 centuries were decisive for the organ in the sense that the Christian Church became interested in its capabilities, and then firmly “appropriated” them and developed them. The organ was destined to become an instrument of mass preaching, as it remains to this day. To this end, its transformations moved along two channels.
First. The physical dimensions and acoustic capabilities of the instrument have reached incredible levels. In accordance with the growth and development of temple architecture, the architectural and musical aspect rapidly progressed. They began to build the organ into the wall of the church, and its thunderous sound subdued and shocked the imagination of the parishioners.
The number of organ pipes, which were now made of wood and metal, reached several thousand. The organ's timbres acquired a wide emotional range - from the likeness of the Voice of God to the quiet revelations of religious individuality.
Sound capabilities previously purchased on historical path, were needed in church life. The polyphony of the organ allowed the increasingly complex music to reflect the multifaceted interweaving of spiritual practice. The length and intensity of the tone exalted the aspect of living breathing, bringing the very nature of organ sound closer to the experiences of human life.
From this stage, the organ is a musical instrument of enormous persuasive power.
The second direction in the development of the instrument followed the path of enhancing its virtuoso capabilities.
To manage an arsenal of thousands of pipes, a fundamentally new mechanism was needed, allowing the performer to cope with this countless wealth. History itself suggested the right solution: the idea of keyboard coordination of the entire sound array appeared and was superbly adapted to the device of the “king of music”. From now on, the organ is a keyboard-wind instrument.
The control of the giant was concentrated behind a special console, which combined the colossal capabilities of keyboard technology and the ingenious inventions of organ masters. In front of the organist there were now placed in a stepped order - one above the other - from two to seven keyboards. Below, near the floor under your feet, there was a large pedal keyboard for extracting low tones. They played on it with their feet. Thus, the organist's technique required great skill. The performer's seat was a long bench placed on top of the pedal keyboard.
The combination of pipes was controlled by a register mechanism. Near the keyboards there were special buttons or handles, each of which simultaneously activated tens, hundreds and even thousands of pipes. To prevent the organist from being distracted by switching registers, he had an assistant - usually a student who had to understand the basics of playing the organ.
The organ begins its victorious march in the world artistic culture. By the 17th century it had reached its peak and unprecedented heights in music. After the immortalization of organ art in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, the greatness of this instrument remains unsurpassed to this day. Today, the organ is a musical instrument of modern history.