The organ

[AdamSmith]

As an early adolescent, I had a mad crush on E. Power Biggs - he was sort of a refined, suave silver daddy.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,

There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.

He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:

At whatever time the deed took place—MACAVITY WASN'T THERE !

[AdamSmith]

P.D.Q. Bach's Toot Suite for Calliope Four Hands, "originally composed for the famous four-handed organist Emanuel Pedal."

 

[AdamSmith]

'Allegory of Labor and Art' (my private title ) from Dom Bédos's L'Art du Facteur d'Orgues.

 

[AdamSmith]

Wind chest construction, from Dom Bédos.

 

http://pascal.leray.free.fr/web_org/sommier_dom_bedos.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://www.organosandomenicorieti.it/images/tav_dombedos6.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://orgue.stetienne-issy.pagesperso-orange.fr/Orgue_SE/Technique_files/fax9.jpg

[AdamSmith]

[AdamSmith]

Marvelous site dedicated to Cavaillé-Coll's Saint-Sulpice instrument. (The root site covers all the organs there.)

 

http://www.stsulpice.com/Docs/history.html

http://www.stsulpice.com/Images/stsulpice06.jpg

[AdamSmith]

Back to Dom Bédos.

 

[AdamSmith]

[AdamSmith]

http://images.delcampe.com/img_large/auction/000/221/859/204_004.jpg

[AdamSmith]

[AdamSmith]

[AdamSmith]

http://www.librairie-du-cardinal.com/produit/48103_4.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://www.organosandomenicorieti.it/images/tav_dombedos14.jpg

[AdamSmith]

Tremulant.

 

http://www.pykett.org.uk/DomBedosTrem.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://www.organosandomenicorieti.it/images/tav_dombedos7.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://artflx.uchicago.edu/images/encyclopedie/V22/plate_22_14_3.jpeg

[AdamSmith]

http://www.organosandomenicorieti.it/images/tav_dombedos2.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://images.delcampe.com/img_large/auction/000/285/594/796_001.jpg

[AdamSmith]

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2XgAAOSwfZ1WafA5/s-l300.jpg

[AdamSmith]

Side note: Organ builders make their money on the undemanding small and medium-size instruments that make up the bulk of their commissions.

 

But on the prestige constructions, such as the Duke Chapel instrument whose unending design changes far into fabrication I detailed above, they routinely expect to lose money. They accede to it for the PR benefit, and also (for most) the contribution they can make to the stream of art.

 

One shudders to think what financial losses the Flentrop shop had to absorb on the Duke project, even though they were paid $550,000 in 1977 dollars.

 

Fenner said as much. And the shop's owner/manager Dirk Flentrop ate the losses, for his aesthetic devotions to the same ends.

[slightly]

Huh... when I saw the title of this thread, I WAS JUMPING FOR JOY in recognition of a little known Canadian lesbian Alt music band...

 

 

But in any case, thank you! I'll have to spend a quiet evening exploring thread more in depth.

[AdamSmith]

Even with Bach's quite insignificant 'Jig Fugue' in G major, BWV 577 (of at least disputed if not indeed quite dubious provenance), Biggs croaks out what sounds like a convincing performance until one hears what (who else ) Chapuis can turn this 'cobbler's patch' (Beethoven's word for Diabelli's jingle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabelli_Variations) into.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrRXQvWUhw

[AdamSmith]

Biographical digression. Age 18 I was an organ enthusiast but autodidact & naive.

 

Then one Randy Foy (today: https://www.ncsu.edu/student_center/music/bios/foy.html), whose organ performance degree from Oberlin was under (previously slightly remarked Fenner Douglass), mildly suggested to me, 'Well, you might like Michel Chapuis.'