The Redmond Organ
Facts about Northaven's "Tracker" Organ, by
Elbert Marshall
(Northaven
will soon remember the "McElvaney Years." One of the landmark events of that
time was the funding, commissioning, and purchase of the Roy Redmon organ, which
is being reinstalled in our new sanctuary right now. Elbert Marshall wrote this
informative story about the organ, and we post it here for your
edification...)
There are many instruments called “organs.” They can be described in three categories:
(1) electric and electronic organs which produce tones from rotating shafts or electronic oscillators or stored samples, process and amplify these sounds and deliver them to the listener thru loud speakers;
(2) reed organs that produce tones by blowing air thru sets of vibrating reeds like those found in accordions and harmonicas; and
(3) pipe organs that produce tones by blowing air thru pipes. By using different material and making pipes in various sizes and shapes the organ builder can produce endless varieties of sounds.
The first two types of organs are small enough to be moved like a piece of furniture. Pipe organs, on the other hand (except for the vary smallest) must be taken apart to relocate. Pipe organs come in many flavors. The originakeys to valves are called trackers. Air pressure was provided by bellows powered by foot or hand power. In the case of the larger organs, the foot power of several men were required to tread on the bellows to keep the air reservoirs full. With the advent of electricity, electric blowers replaced human power to provide air pressure. Later electrical and / or pneumatic energy was used to select the particular pipe to be played.
Although there are advantages to the electro / pneumatic organ construction, problems of reliability and abrupt attacks and releases of notes led to a renaissance in the mid twentieth century of thcondition.
The Northaven pipe organ, built by the Redman Organ Company of Fort Worth and installed in 1973 / 1974, is this type of organ. It is, like most pipe organs, a one-of-a -kind, hand built instrument. With the exception of the blower which provides the air to blow the pipes and a small turntable motor that turns the “glockenspiel”, the organ mechanisms are all mechanical. Pressing down a key or a pedal moves a series of mechanical parts (some of which are called trackers) to open a valve that allows a note to play. Which note or notes (stops) play depends on the position of sliders that were also positioned mechanically. The design is mechanically simple and trouble free
MOVING THE NORTHAVEN ORGAN
The organ is composed of a great many individual parts. As an assembly it probably weighs at least 5000 pounds. It can not be moved without serious disassembly. Some statistics on the organ might be instructive. It includes:
2 Keyboards
1 Pedal board
36 Ranks (rows) of pipes
27 Stops (different sounds)
1931 Pipes
526 Trackers (estimated)
2 Large Wind Chests (about 300 pounds each)
2 Smaller Wind Chests (about 100 pounds each)
1 Wind Reservoir (about 100 pounds)
1 Blower motor assembly (about 50 pounds)
1 Set of parts that comprise keyboards and pedals, outside case and support frame, access doors, c
When our current sanctuary was demolished to make room for the new building, our organ was completely dismantled and trucked to storage until the new space is ready for it. This requires a great deal of “sweat labor.” When the organ was first installed in 1973, several church members took a rental truck to the Redman Organ shop in Fort Worth, loaded the truck, brought it back to NMC, and unloaded it. Actually, Roy Redman had underestimated the truck space required. We had to rent another truck in Fort Worth and bring TWO truck loads to Dallas. We also helped erect the base of the organ and the two major wind chests Later we designed, built, and installed the pipe shades on the case.
While the organ is disassembled, Roy Redman examined possible wear-points (slider seals, roller board bearings, various bushings and bearings for trackers, and the like, and too
While the organ was in Roy Redman’s hands, he made some improvements to the organ. He replaced two of the stops on the organ that Roy and our organists had not been satisfied with for a long time. In addition he also installed an electronic combination action that will allow more flexibility for the organist in rapidly changing the stops being played during a particular piece. He also incorporated a larger blower to provide more sound to fill the larger volume of the new sanctuary.
There are many instruments called “organs.” They can be described in three categories:
(1) electric and electronic organs which produce tones from rotating shafts or electronic oscillators or stored samples, process and amplify these sounds and deliver them to the listener thru loud speakers;
(2) reed organs that produce tones by blowing air thru sets of vibrating reeds like those found in accordions and harmonicas; and
(3) pipe organs that produce tones by blowing air thru pipes. By using different material and making pipes in various sizes and shapes the organ builder can produce endless varieties of sounds.
The first two types of organs are small enough to be moved like a piece of furniture. Pipe organs, on the other hand (except for the vary smallest) must be taken apart to relocate. Pipe organs come in many flavors. The originakeys to valves are called trackers. Air pressure was provided by bellows powered by foot or hand power. In the case of the larger organs, the foot power of several men were required to tread on the bellows to keep the air reservoirs full. With the advent of electricity, electric blowers replaced human power to provide air pressure. Later electrical and / or pneumatic energy was used to select the particular pipe to be played.
Although there are advantages to the electro / pneumatic organ construction, problems of reliability and abrupt attacks and releases of notes led to a renaissance in the mid twentieth century of thcondition.
The Northaven pipe organ, built by the Redman Organ Company of Fort Worth and installed in 1973 / 1974, is this type of organ. It is, like most pipe organs, a one-of-a -kind, hand built instrument. With the exception of the blower which provides the air to blow the pipes and a small turntable motor that turns the “glockenspiel”, the organ mechanisms are all mechanical. Pressing down a key or a pedal moves a series of mechanical parts (some of which are called trackers) to open a valve that allows a note to play. Which note or notes (stops) play depends on the position of sliders that were also positioned mechanically. The design is mechanically simple and trouble free
MOVING THE NORTHAVEN ORGAN
The organ is composed of a great many individual parts. As an assembly it probably weighs at least 5000 pounds. It can not be moved without serious disassembly. Some statistics on the organ might be instructive. It includes:
2 Keyboards
1 Pedal board
36 Ranks (rows) of pipes
27 Stops (different sounds)
1931 Pipes
526 Trackers (estimated)
2 Large Wind Chests (about 300 pounds each)
2 Smaller Wind Chests (about 100 pounds each)
1 Wind Reservoir (about 100 pounds)
1 Blower motor assembly (about 50 pounds)
1 Set of parts that comprise keyboards and pedals, outside case and support frame, access doors, c
When our current sanctuary was demolished to make room for the new building, our organ was completely dismantled and trucked to storage until the new space is ready for it. This requires a great deal of “sweat labor.” When the organ was first installed in 1973, several church members took a rental truck to the Redman Organ shop in Fort Worth, loaded the truck, brought it back to NMC, and unloaded it. Actually, Roy Redman had underestimated the truck space required. We had to rent another truck in Fort Worth and bring TWO truck loads to Dallas. We also helped erect the base of the organ and the two major wind chests Later we designed, built, and installed the pipe shades on the case.
While the organ is disassembled, Roy Redman examined possible wear-points (slider seals, roller board bearings, various bushings and bearings for trackers, and the like, and too
While the organ was in Roy Redman’s hands, he made some improvements to the organ. He replaced two of the stops on the organ that Roy and our organists had not been satisfied with for a long time. In addition he also installed an electronic combination action that will allow more flexibility for the organist in rapidly changing the stops being played during a particular piece. He also incorporated a larger blower to provide more sound to fill the larger volume of the new sanctuary.
Posted: Wednesday - February 01, 2006 at 03:38 PM |
Quick Links
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 05, 2008 04:52 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 05, 2008 04:52 PM