Chamber Organ

The chamber organ is a moderately-sized piped organ. It typically has a single manual, a limited number of stops, and a limited pedalboard or no pedals at all. It is generally intended for use in small chapels, in homes, or other intimate rooms. As it is capable of long sustained tones, it is sometimes preferable to harpsichord as a continuo instrument in chamber ensembles.

Technical description: Mahogany case with dark and light striping, gilt wood display pipes; suspended music rack; accidentals; range C, D-e3 (52 notes, C# omitted); present specification Stopt Diapason 8' (normal low-mouth wood stop), Principal 4' (stopped wood to F, F#-e3 metal with 1/4 mouths), Dulciana 8' (g-e3, 35 metal pipes, 2/9--1/5 mouths). Only the Principal is so marked; the two 8' stops have only occasional note markings. The Dulciana is a later addition replacing a missing 15th. One or more pipes of the original 15th may have been substituted for lost pipes of the Principal. All wood pipes are present. The Principal has perhaps 10 later replacement pipes. The Dulciana rank is complete and is set in the organ one note higher than marked. Windchest is standard position above manual, bungboard facing forward. Keyboard slides in and out on runners, having a balanced key action with stickers that ride on top of keys as keyboard slides in or out. Stickers operate short backfall levers connecting to pulldown wires which pass through leather diaphragm pulpets to pallets. Four notes D, E, F#, G#, are rollered off to right side of organ. All other notes arranged chromatically ("N" chest). Only the lowest pipe of the Stopt Diapason is mitered; all others stand straight and are not fastened to the mahogany outer case which can be removed to expose the entire organ on an open independent framework. Bellows is below chest and is comprised of one wedge-shaped feeder attached to the underside of an opposed wedge-shaped two-fold reservoir. The middle fold has a wooden pantograph-type leveler. A short rectangular-section wind duct emanates from back of bellows (middle of long side), rises diagonally and turns forward to enter mid-point of pallet box. Feeder operated by large detachable iron pedal at front of organ. This pedal rotates on iron axle having a hand-forged action arm which presses against underside of feeder, forcing it upward. Standard English-type windchest: a slider chest with normal glued-up grid and glued-on oak table. Oak sliders. Pine toe-boards with single veneer of oak on under-side. Rackboards (damaged but intact) of pine. Rackboard holes for 15th have been capped in bass for the Dulciana; much patching and channeling have been done to toe-board to accommodate Dulciana basses. Front-to-back dimension of grid is very short because, the 8' toeboard is behind the grid and is fed through a slider which is "on edge" against back of grid. The 8' basses thus stand on a toe-board which is below grid level. The 8' trebles are on the same level as the other smaller pipes. The sliders are controlled by 3 small brass knobs projecting from inset stop jambs toward the center of the keywell. Stop shafts connected directly to wooden rocker arms which move the sliders. A fourth knob has been disconnected. Presumably the Stopt Diapason was originally divided bass and treble, when the fourth knob would have been necessary. No bass/ treble divisions presently exist. A machine stop pedal extends from the front, left of the feeder pedal; this links to a wrought iron roller originally intended to operate the 4' and 2'. No extra slider(s) exist for the machine stop and its original system of operation is uncertain. At present the 15th slider is disconnected and the Principal slider's stop shaft is notched so that is will catch in the off position. A metal leaf spring presses the slider into on position when the Principal knob is flipped upward. The machine stop pedal draws the slider shut against the spring. There is no obvious sign that the machine stop ever used a slider or sliders of its own.


Pipework: pitch is approximately A-422 Hz. Stopt Diapason of pine with English oak caps and blocks; scale C 82x93 mm, c 40x54, c1 25x31, c2 17x22, c3 11x16; details of c1 pipe: tone extremely pleasant, cut-up 5.9 mm, block rise above cap 1.3 mm, upper lip skivvied almost sharp, wall thickness 5.4 mm, cap thickness 10 mm, windway moderately open; this pipe originally had about 19 vertical nicks, later 9 larger, slightly diagonal nicks were added; the oak of the cap is extremely porous; beveling of block is just perceptible. Principal well-made of thin common metal; details of c1 pipe diameter 25 mm, body length 293 mm, foot length 143 mm, mouth width 20 mm, cut-up 5 mm, languid thickness 1.6 mm, languid angle about 65º, gegenphase (counterface); 13 original nicks angled in slightly from left; vertical scribe lines on inside of body and foot at corners of the mouth (normal flattening of upper and lower lips); toe hole 3.5 mm diameter; small ears below cl. (Laurence Libin, 8 Mar. 77)