The organ: technology and philosophy
Roughly speaking, the organ of
the Church of Santa Cruz de Pedreguer is made up of the
following components:
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Keyboards
Foto:
Serafín Sivera |
24 registers or stops,
corresponding to two manual keyboards and one pedal
keyboard. The transmission of the notes to be played is
based on a suspended mechanism, which connects the keys
directly to the valves, a technique which was already widely
used for great organs in past centuries because it allowed a
sensitive and reliable touch of the keys. The operation of
the registers or the various tone colours is likewise
mechanical.
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Organ mechanical traction
Foto:
Serafín Sivera |
The organ is a wind instrument
incorporating a motorized fan that generates a wind current,
and two leather bellows that regulate the air flow and work
like a pair of lungs.
The total number of pipes amounts to 1500. They are made of
wood and tin, the form and dimensions of each of them having
been precisely calculated to match the acoustics at the
church in Pedreguer before they were made. The total weight
of the instruments is 9 metric tons, and it took around 6000
hours to build the instrument. Behind these technical
details there is the desire of a whole team of experts to
create beauty and harmony in the shape of a work of art
which in itself embodies its own philosophy.
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Organ perspective
Foto:
Serafín Sivera |
The creation of an organ is
something unique and unrepeatable, and as it is intended
that the instrument should last for centuries to come, we
have taken on an additional responsibility, still increased
by the fact that the instrument is a direct donation made by
the Foundation Server y Pérez, an institution that bought
the instrument and gave it to the town of Pedreguer.
A work of art should always be
something complete and balanced. An organ consists of
numerous different parts which have to be very carefully
crafted so that they interact and can be operated in harmony
and unison. This applies to the design of the façade, the
subtle and reliable movement of each of its component
mechanical parts, the physics of air currents and the timbre
of each organ pipe.
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Keyboards perspective
Foto:
Serafín Sivera |
As far as style is concerned,
the organ of the church of Pedreguer incorporates central
European as well as Iberian techniques, the musical result
being that this symbiosis allows the organist to play a wide
range of works, but above all, our instruments should be
understood as a contemporary expression that relates to the
people living on this transparent and sun-drenched
Mediterranean coast.
For centuries organs used to be
an indicator of culture and prestige. With this instrument,
with its energy and its magnificent sound we would like to
express the desire of a large group of people to recover
this culture and prestige.
Gerhard Grenzing
Master Organ-builder
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