“The Evolution of the Early English Organ” by Keith Morgan is a comprehensive book on music and the history of the English organ up to 1660. The book explores the instrument’s medieval origins, its role in religious and cultural life, and how changing musical styles, craftsmanship, and religious ideologies influenced its development. Drawing from manuscripts, church records, and early music collections, Morgan details the organ’s journey from large church instruments to more intimate chamber organs of the Tudor and Stuart eras. Appendices offer a valuable catalogue of surviving evidence, supporting musicians, historians, and enthusiasts alike.
The People’s Instrument
As Keith A Morgan notes in “The Evolution of the Early English Organ,” the organ has long been an instrument closely associated with the common people. For centuries, it was often the only way rural communities could access classical music. While chamber and concert music were reserved for the nobility or urban elites, the village organ and organist brought music to the masses, making the organ an essential part of local culture and social life.
Crafted for Community
Morgan’s research on music and the history shows that organs were custom-built by local artisans, tailored for the specific needs of each community. Sometimes, even the vocal character of a village influenced an organ’s design. This craftsmanship illustrates Morgan’s point that the organ was a “democratic” instrument, providing widespread access to quality music and serving as a soundtrack to local history and culture.
A Timeless Soundtrack
Morgan also traces the organ’s remarkable journey through music and history. Capable of the greatest sound effects, and praised by Mozart as “the king of instruments,” the organ’s roots stretch back to Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. By the 2nd century AD, it had become central to Roman entertainment and culture. Over the centuries, its appearance and role continued to evolve, a process Morgan details with historical and technical insight.
Inside the Organ: Mechanics and Magic
It’s worth reiterating that the organ is a wind instrument made up of sets of pipes. When keys are pressed on the organ’s keyboard, this opens valves and allows air, blown by bellows (mechanical devices that send air into the pipes) or later by an electric fan, to pass through the pipes and create sound. A set of pipes, called a rank, is a row of pipes with the same tonal characteristics (they sound similar in colour and strength). Each rank covers all, or some, of the chromatic notes (all the notes in the scale, including the sharps and flats) on the keyboard. one, two, or more keyboards, and these are short in range, normally 56 notes (from C1 to G5); there are also organs with 45, 51, or 61 notes, arranged in a staggered fashion: one above the other.
It also has a foot keyboard, which today has the standardised range of 30 notes (from C1 to F3); organs with 27 and 32 notes are also available. In the past, some organs had a short octave and a limited number of pedals (buttons or pegs), which were later replaced by keyboard pedals that organ builders subsequently added. The keyboards played with the hands are called manuals, and the one played with the feet is called the pedalboard. Keyboards are typically attached to the main organ and connected to the pedalboard, allowing for the simultaneous playing of other keyboards. The organ, incidentally, is the quintessential polyphonic instrument.
Meet the Keyboards: Great, Positive, Expressive, Echoes
Each keyboard receives a characteristic name based on its properties. When we refer to the Great Organ, it is the instrument’s main keyboard where stops with a strong timbral presence are located, as opposed to the Caderette or Positive (a term that means small organ, and which in the case of the Caderette is located behind the organist), and which generally contains smaller stops; they are more “lively.” Another keyboard is called the Expressive. This section features stops of a different character than those of the Great Organ and the Positive, with a “romantic” aesthetic. They are usually housed in a case with a grille or shutter, which the organist opens and closes at will using the expression pedal, allowing for organ volume adjustments. Regarding the manuals, we can also mention a fourth keyboard: the Echoes. This keyboard may also be enclosed in a case, the Echo Box, or not. The organ builder strategically places this box in a well-chosen location so that its sounds resonate. If the Echoes keyboard is expressive, meaning it allows for gradations of intensity, the case can be opened and closed in a similar way to the Expressive keyboard.
Powerful Pedals: The Foundation of Sound
Finally, we come to the Pedal stops, which are operated by the pedalboard. These are the deepest stops of the instrument. They can be very soft and subtle, or of great sonic vigour; it all depends on the timbres chosen by the organ builder, according to the dimensions of the instrument, dimensions that are almost always appropriate to the size of the space where the organ will be located. The pedal pipes are mounted on the sides and back of the organ.
The Organist’s Playground: Console and Controls
The organist selects sounds using the stops located around the keyboards (or above them), which take various forms: drawbars, levers, stilts, plates, buttons, etc. The keyboards, pedal, and stops are all located on the console, which is precisely where the music is organised. This console can be a “window” console, allowing the organist to play facing the organ.
Organs in Churches: From Modest to Monumental
Morgan notes that for several centuries, churches had relatively small organs. By the 15th century, it became common for new churches to be designed with organs as an integral feature, further cementing the instrument’s importance in English religious and musical life.
Ready to explore the fascinating journey of the English organ in depth? Dive into Keith Morgan’s “The Evolution of the Early English Organ” and discover the stories, innovations, and musical legacy that shaped centuries of sound.
