The King of Instruments

To my eyes and ears the organ will ever be the King of Instruments.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Pipe organs in the UK are currently enduring a wave of destruction. It is estimated that four pipe organs are sent to landfill every week. Many pipe organs that avoid destruction are simply mouldering away quietly. These organs sit disused, even in functioning churches, often for lack of a regular organist or minor, routine attention. The UK's pipe organs are a world-class heritage of craftsmanship and musical achievement. For many communities, they are the gateway to a huge repertoire of choral and other music. 

Through the generosity of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow, St Mary's has been given the opportunity to preserve a superb Willis organ. After lying in storage for nearly 15 years it needs cleaning, repair and reassembly. Parts are unfortunately unsalvageable and must be replaced, other new elements must be designed so that it can be installed in St Mary's. While this comes at a price, it is nothing in comparison to the cost of installing a new organ which would cost twice as much and be of a lesser quality. The benefits of saving this superb organ for future generations are a superb 'voice' of immense subtlety, a romantic palette of sound that ranges from roaring thunder to softness and tenderness.

The origins of the pipe organ can be traced back to the hydraulis in Ancient Greece, in the 3rd century BC. The wind supply required was created by the weight of displaced water in an airtight container. By the 6th or 7th century AD, bellows were used to supply Byzantine organs with wind. The first organ of which any detailed record exists was built in Winchester Cathedral in the 10th century. It was a huge machine with 400 pipes, which needed two men to play it and 70 men to blow it, and its sound could be heard throughout the city.

Beginning in the 12th century, the organ began to evolve into a complex instrument capable of producing different timbres. By the 17th century, most of the sounds available on the modern classical organ had been developed. At that time, the pipe organ was the most complex human-made device—a distinction it retained until it was displaced by the telephone exchange in the late 19th century.

The pipe organ produces sound by driving pressurized air (called wind) through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre, volume, and construction throughout the keyboard compass. Most organs have many ranks of pipes of differing pitch, timbre, and volume that the player can employ singly or in combination through the use of controls called stops.

Pipe organs are installed in churches, synagogues, concert halls, schools, mansions, other public buildings and in private properties. They are used in the performance of classical music, sacred music, secular music, and popular music. In the early 20th century, pipe organs were installed in theaters to accompany the screening of films during the silent movie era; in municipal auditoria, where orchestral transcriptions were popular; and in the homes of the wealthy. The beginning of the 21st century has seen a resurgence in installations in concert halls. A substantial organ repertoire spans over 500 years.

The UK Government has announced that it will – at last – adhere to the 2003 UNESCO Convention on intangible heritage, the world inventory of cultural traditions and practices. It has now launched a consultation on the process of how to recognise UK customs, traditions and other intangible heritage for possible inscription on the register. Germany has already put its organ music tradition on the register and the UNESCO web site has an excellent video explaining why...

This is in two inseparable parts: pipe organ building, and the composition and performance of organ music. Inscription on the register confers no immediate benefits such as extra money or protection, but is a recognition that the heritage is part of the nation’s, and hence, the world’s heritage.

What is harder to assess is the positive impact on cultural activities that are connected with the pipe organ, such as choral music and musical entertainment. Imagine never hearing the delicate choir and organ composition Listen by by Aniceto Nazareth, the ravishingly elegaic Mozart - Lacrimosa (Requiem K.626) or the magisterial Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor or even this chirpy Medley on the Mighty Wurlitzer, a theatre pipe organ?

One of the best things about the organ is the way it brings people together. Communities form around organs.

Eilidh Harris, Bernard Porter Organ Scholar at St Mary's

Anyone who sees a crowd of people waiting for the start of the weekend organ recitals in the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow will appreciate how true this is. When the organ is played it is usually to large groups in gathering places: if forms the the sound track to occasions such as weddings and funerals, seaside holidays and horror flicks. These experiences will become increasingly rare unless we preserve the pipe organ. Without it we don't just lose an immersive, unique and magnificent sound, we lose the connectedness that it fosters.