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There are
so many different flutes on a pipe organ it almost
boggles the mind!!! Spitz Flute, Block Flute, Doppel
Flute, Gross Flute, Orchestral Flute, Harmonic Flute,
Concert Flute, Traverse Flute, Clarabel Flute, Chimney
Flute, Flute D' Amour, Triangle Flute, Rohr Flute,
Koppel Flute, Flute a Bois, Stopped Flute, Open Flute,
Wald Flute, and my favorite Fern Flute. Not to mention
all the other typical members of the stopped family
like, Bourdons, Gedeckts, Lieblichs, and other higher
pitched ranks like Flautinos and Piccolos.
Whew!! Like I said, it boggles the mind! Why are there
so many different kinds of flute stops on an organ?
Well, all stops in an organ belong to specific families,
such as principals, flutes, strings, and reeds. Some
stops are intended to be used to build up a chorus.
These stops are not really intended to be used as
solo stops but rather in conjunction with other stops
to build up a rich ensemble of sound. Some stops can
provide color and interesting textures when used with
other sounds. Careful use of flute stops in combination
with strings or other flute stops can add melodic
interest and can provide spice to many basic sounds.
For example the simple addition of a colorful flute
to a Salicional (String family), can add new life
to a musical phrase.
For use in solo melodies, some flutes can be specifically
voiced to be imitative, resembling the sounds
found in an orchestra. These stops, which can be made
of metal or wood, are found in either stopped or open
variety. They can speak the note of their length (as
found in open pipes), or emphasize the harmonic of
the note (as is the case with harmonic flutes). Harmonic
Flutes are pipes that have a small hole drilled at
a point approximately halfway along the upper body
of the pipe. This hole creates a node that emphasizes
the natural octave sounding harmonic of the pipe.
Constructed of metal and cylindrical in shape, these
stops are commonly found at 4' pitch, but can also
be found at 8' pitch. Other harmonic stops are Traverse
Flute, often made of wood, Flute Octavian, Concert
Flute, Orchestral Flute, and my other favorite, Zauberflute
that can be either harmonic or stopped!
Stopped flutes, (Bourdon, Gedeckt, Lieblich Gedeckt,
Stopped Diapason, Flute d' Amour) can be made of wood
or metal. The stopper is inserted into the top of
the pipe and forces the air column to return down
the length of the pipe to create a distance twice
as long as the physical length of the pipe. This in
effect will also emphasize certain partial internal
harmonics that help create character or color within
the pipe. A Chimney Flute, also called RohrFlute,
is a cylindrical pipe fitted with a movable cap that
acts like a stopper. A small tube or Chimney is inserted
into the cap that helps to emphasize the fifth sounding
harmonic giving the stop a distinctive character.
Physical features that contribute to creating the
flute tone are the voicer's use of larger scaling
with a smaller relative mouth width and a higher cut-up.
Regulation of wind at the toe and usually heavy nicking
of the flue decreases any harmonic color and increases
the darker flute tone. All these elements, skillfully
executed, contribute to the final tone of the pipe.
The material of the pipe also plays a part in the
final tone quality. Wood is the material of many flute
ranks but most often being the Pedal Bourdon. Especially
on lower wind pressures, wood tends to resonate with
the note produced by the air column inside the pipe
which helps to reinforce the tone and make the note
more penetrating. However I have heard metal flutes
which are just as penetrating as wood. Careful voicing
is still the most important factor to the tone.
Metal flute pipes look like any other organ pipe.
They can be cylindrical (Nachthorn, Flautino) or conical,
(Spitzflute, Koppelflute, Blockflute) in shape and
are tuned just like pipes of the principal variety
using tuning collars. Also included in this category
are Mutation Stops. (Nazard, Tierce, Larigot) which
are flutes that speak a perfect interval (12th, 17th,
19th) of the note played. These may be cylindrical
or conical in shape.
Wooden
flute pipes are tuned in a number of different ways.
Open wood flute pipes are usually tuned by means
of a metal cover on the top, which is either rolled
open or closed, or raised and lowered like a flap.
Melodia';s built by the Estey Co. tune by means
of a thin wooden slide behind a U shaped notch at
the top of the pipe. These are sometimes hard to
move and prone to splitting.
Wooden flute pipes are usually rectangular in shape
except for the triangle flute, which is the name
suggests, is triangular in shape. Almost always
found at 4'; pitch in the Swell, this stop was often
used by the Skinner Organ Company and occasionally
by Moller in the 1920's. The intention of this shape
was to provide a pipe with a wide scaled mouth thereby
creating a strong open flute sound. The triangle
shape greatly reduces the amount of physical room
the pipe requires on a given windchest. Also, there
is the Doppel Flute, which has double mouths (on
opposite sides of the pipe) and is found at 8' pitch.
Metal flutes, like all metal pipes, can last hundreds
of years without any major servicing (maybe an occasional
cleaning). Wood flutes however, need some attention
from time to time. There are several reasons for
this. The seams of the pipe body can separate compromising
the ability of the pipe to contain the air column
and thus give a false note which is impossible to
tune or even render the pipe silent. The wood itself
can also crack causing the same condition. The flue
caps can warp or loosen over time causing leakage
of wind, which causes windiness and decreases the
volume of the pipe. Open wood flutes sometimes need
the tuning flaps replaced.
Probably the most common problem with wood flutes
is deterioration of the stopper leather. This affects
the ability of the stopper to tightly seal the pipe
and makes the pipe difficult/impossible to tune.
The resulting loosening of the stopper also increases
the incidence of dropped stoppers and the pipe will
not hold a tuning. Even if the stopper seems tight
and holds a tuning, gaps between the stopper and
the pipe body can cause the pipe to speak a weak
note or whistle a higher pitch. If stoppers are
properly fitted the life expectancy can be fifty
years or more. Improperly fitted stoppers will not
provide stable tuning life or satisfactory tonal
character. When the leather is shot, it needs to
be replaced.
We at Patrick J. Murphy and Associates are equipped
to repair any of the above problems. We can flawlessly
repair cracked pipes or pipes with separated seams.
We can tighten flue caps or skillfully true up the
caps if warped. We can also replace broken or missing
tuning flaps on open wood pipes. And, of course,
we releather pipe stoppers expertly. Using high
quality leather of the correct type and thickness
and time honored techniques, we restore old, untunable
pipes to like-new condition bringing out all the
sonority the original voicer intended.
So the next time you find that your flutes don't
sound just right or won't hold tune, give us a call.
We can make your flute sound like a flute is a flute
is a flute..!
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