Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-01-20
KING OF INSTRUMENTS.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ORGANS
AND TEs1R ORIGIN.
The Great Organs Of the world-organ
Music and Players = Account Of
Some Marvellous Instruments.


dignity, nobility and tue grandeur of the
instrument. The performance OF few
metrical hymn tunes, an operate selection
or popular march or chorus, does not
have any educating tendency, either IN re.
gard to organ music or in respect to the
instrument itself. Tee stately and majestic
king of instruments was never intended to
be SO debased, and it is decoration to so
use it. As implied by it's very name, it is
1.-THE instrument in distinction from all
other and less noble instruments.
THE ENACT PERIOD
OF it's origin is not known. 1t is very
probable that it was not an invention at
all, but development. like the harp,
piano and many other musical instruments
which grew from small and imperfect be-
ginulngs to the magnificent pieces Of mech
anism and science as we know them now.
The Bible tells us that Jnbal was the
father of all such as handle the harp and
the organ, but this probably means that
Jubal merely used the simple musical in
struments of his time, and certainly has
no reference to anything like what we
know as an organ, as even its semblance
WAC not known until centuries later. The
word organ as used in the Old Testament,
was taken from the Greek translation, and
there is no authority for believing that
Jubal knew anything about an instrument
approaching, even in the slightest degree,
the modern organ.
THE SIMPLE REED,
Which is the foundation of all wind in
s.rnments, was known to emit musical
sound, even as far back as the times re.
corded in the Book of Genesis, and this
was doubtless the organ of Jubal; but
centuries after his day, the jews had an
instrument which more nearly resembled,
or, perhaps it would be better to say, sug-
gested, the organ. This was called "Ms-
craphe d'aruchin," and it consisted of an
oblong wooden box, with a row OF resds
like inverted whistles along the top, and
ON one side a row OF metal bolts which
could be pulled out and pushed in, to turn
on or shut off the wind, which was sup.
piled by two bellows, like the common fire.
bellows, fastened on the other side and
resting on frame. Here will he perceived
the essential principles of the modern
organ. The classical writers attribute the
INVENTION OF THE ORGAN
To the god Pan, from the name of whom
we get the Pandean pipes The old fable
is that Pan thought the music of HE pipes
or reeds, which grew by the river, superior
to that of the Tyre OF Apollo, and chal-
lenged the latter to trial Of skill. Midas,
the umpire, decided in favor of Pans
pipes. These were blown by the mouth,
just as we occasionally see them blown
now By wandering Italians in our streets.
Virgil described an organ having a wind.
chest, which he called "tibia mricularis.
The development of the organ thus far
seemed to be this first, single reed,
blown by the mouth, emitting musical
sound then the addition of other shorter
and longer reeds, making a sort OF scale.
These were arranged in the form of the
Pandean pipes, but still blown by the
mouth.
THE NEXT STEP
Was to supply the wind artifcially and
produce sound by stopping the reeds
with the fingers, TO which finally was
added mechanism for opening and clos.
ing the pipes, and thus allowing the wind
only to enter as desired. OF course, these
various steps took many years, and it was
not until the year of our Lord $50 that we
find any mention Of organs being used in
churches, and this is only on the disputed
authority of Julianus OF Spain. About
the year 700 the organs of the Anglo
Ssxons appear to have resembled in form
and general appearance those now in use,
but were played by large levers. The Or
gan in the old church of Winchester, En-.
gland, was known to have existed in the
year $50. It had, according to Wslston,
seventy bellows, which were blown by
seventy men. This organ contained 400
pipes.
IN THE NEXT CENTURY
The levers were abolished, and key
board substituted, 1t contained only from
nine to eleven notes, and the organ at Mag.
deburg, built near the close of the eleventh
century, was the first which had so great
a compass as sixteen notes. The keys
were each over a foot long and several
inches broad, and were beaten down with
the fist. There was no such thing as play
ing in harmony, but the old ecclesiastical
chants required none, nor did they demand
any greater compass than that of the Mag.
deburg organ. This instrument had "a
bellows, and used ss much wind as many
modern organ of ten times its size.
FAMOUS ORGANS IN EUROPE.
There are many remarkable organs in
Europe, which have attracted the attention
of musicians, either for their size, their
quality of tone, or for some peculiar me.
chanical arrangement. The largest organs
are provided with four manuals and pedal
keyboard, and the smallest with one man.
ual keyboard only. the latter are only
fit for small rooms, and are rarely used out
of private houses, while the former are
only to be found in the large cathedrsls,
and in concert halls. There are but very
few organs containing upward of
ONE HUNDRED REGISTERS.
Among these few is the organ in st.
Georges Hall. Liverpool, which was built
by Willis, OF London. II has four manu-.
ais and pedal Of two and half octsves
thirty notes., and Its technical appliances
exceed in number and ingenuity those OF
most all other instruments in Europe.
The organ in the Munster, at Ulm, has
also 100 stops, and is said to be the largest
organ in the world. It was built by
Walcker, of Ludwigsburg, and has four
manuals and two pedals. The Marien
Kirche, at Lubeck, has two organs, the
larger of which has four manuals and
eighty-two registers. 1t was in use in the
church prior to 1861. Among other organs
which have four manuals are the one In st.
Thomas Church, Leipzig, with eighty
registers, built by Lsdergast, of Weissen'
fels the great organ in tne Church OF st.
Dominica, at Prague, with seventy-on
! registers, eighteen of which are in the
pedal the organ in S. Laurence Cathedral,
at Rotterdam, which has
NINETY TWO REGISTERS;
The organ in Beauvais Cathedral, which
has sixty eight registers, the pedals begin
ming at F instead Of at G, as is usual the
one in Halberssadt Cathedral, with sixty.
five registers, including thirty-two feet
reed in the great organ, and eighteen regis
tiers in the pedal the organ in the Bene'
dictine Monastery, at Weingarten, which
was built by Gablaar, over century ago
and contains sixty.four registers, with
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