APPRECIATION OF MUSIC.

Shannon News, 24 May 1927, Page 1

APPRECIATION OF MUSIC.

| LECTURE BY MR. DENNIS. j DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIPE j ORGAN. , | The first of a series of lecturettes on i “The Appreciation of Music” was giv- | en before a fair attendance of those interested, by Mr. E. Dennis, | A.R.C.M., in the De Luxe Concert (.Chamber-on Monday evening, under the j auspices of the W.E.A. j “Ragtime,” said Mr. Dennis, “is ' catching, with melodies that tickle the ear and senses and do not require ponj dering over or studying. In some of j the more advanced works the melodies ; are not quite so rich and attractive as l in the days of Ealfe, the melody king. It was to enable the appeal of music < generally to be understood that the ' lectures were being given. Mr. Den- ! ms’s first instalment of the series was devoted to a study of the beginning; of the organ, of which traces are discoAmrable two or three centuries 8.0. The idea of musical sounds were though; to have been suggested to have wind blowing among reeds. Defferent "sounds would be noticed coining from reeds of different lengths, open at one end ar.d closed (stopped) at the other. From this would arise the idea of arranging pipes in a rosy for blowing with the mouth —Pan-pipes. The lecturer, by blowing down two test tubes containing defferent quantities of water ' showed how a distinct note would be produced in each case according to the length of the column of air. In the evolution of the open pipe, a slit was made in the joint of the reed, giving the form of the whistle-pipe. In order to multiply the sounds, holes were made along the pipe, and so the octave with the scale was obtained. The next discovery in regard to pipes was the use of an inserted reed for producing the sound, resulting proehically in a vibrating tube. This form was freely i used in ancient times, notably in the bagpipes; but .-it was not introduced into organs until the loth century, the equipment prior to that time consisting either of stopped or open pipes. Mr. Dennis described the evolution of the organ with a wind-box; in the first place it was operated by the human breath, two persons blowing alternately. After this, use was made of a con trivance known as the liyderaulis, whi :-h was mentioned very far back in history; An organ with this equipment, and having ten notes, was supposed to. have been used in the temple at Jerusalem. During the first ten centuries A.D.' there were no great 'improvements in organs,"but in the lltli century an advance in the mechanism was made so that when a key was pushed down-it was released by an elastic spring. In the early days of organs St. Jerome wrote of an instrument having 12 brazen pipes, 15 smiths’ bellows, and two elephants’ skins. This was situated on the Mount of Olives, and could be heard a mile from the city. The exact period during which thesa organs were used for religious services was not Known; but a Spanish bishop was using them in 458 A.D. In the Bth century the use of the organ became appreciated in England; and about, the same time the making of organs in France began. The first, organ introduced into Germany was made in 812. About till 3 period melal came into use as Avell as wood; and in the 9th and 10th centuries organs became very plentiful throughout England. After the increase of the range of pipes to two octaves came the development of sola and loud tones and the introduction of three manuals. A writer of the period noted a player “using his list mightily on the keys,” which at this time were from three to five inches wide, 18 inches long and about an inch and a-half deep, with a drop of a foot. In the 13th century the Latin, and Greek clergy took particular dislike to the organ and forbade use of it. The Greek Church at present would not tolerate an organ in its places of wor-

ship. The notes at fust used on tlie organ Avere in the open key; then the B flat .va_s introduced. In the 14th century the makers added F sharp, then C sharp, E flat and G sharp. Later improve meats enabled the organ to be erected independently of the keyboard. Tra ring th growth of" the organ to the present day, Mr. Dennis said'they had passed first from the blowing of the instrument by the breath through r. wind box; then control was secured over individual notes and discords eliminated; and in the later stages the organ could bo played from three claviers, and bellows with springs were introduced . In one of the old types of organ tlore were 28 spring bellows operated by men walking on them and gradually pressing the air through a pipe into the organ. The earliest organ of any importance had eight stops. The chronicles of Ely Cathederal gave the first particulars of the cost of making an organ. . This-was in 1407, the total cost was £3 17s Bd. In 1730 the largest organ in England had three manuals and 33 stops. A large organ installed at Hyde Park in the 18th century was probably responsible for our present day organs. It only had 20 stops, but it was particularly up-to-date for that time. Speaking of modern organs, Mr. Dennis said that- the Town Hall organ in Wellington had 56 speaking stops. The organ of St. Paul’s, London, had five manuals and 77 stops. The Sydney Town Hall organ, one of the largest in-the world, had 128 speaking stops, 8800 pipes, and cpst £15,000 to build. ,_Ten years ago a Los Angeles firm made an organ with five manuals, 140 speaking stops, and 10,059 pipes. The Norwich Cathedra; organ, erected in 1899, had 85 stops and five manuals. The lecture Y'as much appreciated,

and at the conclusion Mr. Dennis answered several questions on the subject of orgaus.