SOPP 713: I'm trying to think when, if ever, someone would want to use a 16' stop when playing on the manuals

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V:  Hi guys!  This is Vidas.

A:  And Ausra.

V:  Let’s start episode 713 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jim, and he writes:

I'm trying to think when, if ever, someone would want to use a 16' stop when playing on the manuals. It seems that practice would give a very thick and muddy sound to the part written for the manuals. Can you give an instance or example of when it would be appropriate to use a 16' stop for the manuals, or one of the manuals, please? I am just having trouble imagining what type of sound that would be. Thank you very much.  ~Jim

A: Yes, that’s a very good question.  And actually quite an easy one to answer, because the 16’ stop if used appropriately in the manuals does not make sound muddy, because you just have to know the instances when it’s best to use it, and when it’s better not to use it.  For example, at St. John’s, if I’m playing the plenum registration on the Hauptwerk, on the first manual, on the Great, I always add the 16’ Principal. Because the plenum with the Mixture and without 16’ Principal will sound not as good.  It sort of completes, rounds up that plenum sound.

V: It depends on the Mixture composition. Because on other manuals, we don’t need 16’ stop - we don’t necessarily need it, right?  We could use it, but not always. As Ausra mentions, on the first, on the Great manual, there is this Mixture which is ranked lower.  It’s a low Mixture based on 16’ harmonic series, not on 8’ harmonic series. So if you don’t use 16’ stop together with this Mixture, what happens then?

A: Well, then the sound is sort of screamy-like. And in order to round it up, you need to add the 16’ Principal. Then it sounds nice and complete.

V: I think the lowest rank of the Mixture starts at 2⅔. So that’s pretty low.  You need the 16’ stop Principal or the Bourdon to make it blend with the chorus.  For example, on the third manual, Oberwerk, it’s not as low.  It could be 1⅓, we have the Cymbel, which is even higher, so it’s a brighter sound, and we don’t need 16’ stop then all the time.

A: Then another instance when I have to use the 16’ stop on the manual is when I’m playing a texture which has like a solo voice in the right hand and some sort of accompaniment in the left hand. And then if you would have two different manuals and the 16’ in your left hand, and solo voice in another manual, the 16’ stop would add some sort of pedal sound in the left hand.  It would trick sort of your ear and your mind, and you could imagine that you are playing the pedals instead of the left hand. That a nice way, and sometimes I like to teach too, when I don’t want to use pedals too much and I don’t have time, I just play the pedal part with my left hand on the 16’ stop. Of course, you never use the 16’ stop alone in the manual, unless it’s a reed stop.  Then it’s another question and another manner of registering.

V: It’s an interesting observation, Ausra.  A lot of trios written in the Baroque period with cantus firmus in the middle voice, in the tenor, can be played both ways: with the pedals taking the bass line, or with the pedals taking the tenor line. And if that’s the case, in the pedals we wouldn’t use 16’ registration, only 8’ bass stop, like a reed, but in the left hand part, like Ausra says, we could use 16’ and 8’. There is even actually a theory you could play the famous “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” from the six Schubler chorales by Bach this way - right hand could be played on the Principal 8’, left hand could take 16’ and 8’ flute stops as the bass line, and in the pedals you could have 8’ reed playing the tenor line, the cantus firmus.

A: Yes, it’s very handy to have this option. What would you do if you have 16’ reeds on the manuals - how would you register?

V: That’s a nice idea, too. On the big organs, there are a few 16’ reeds. Like we have, for example, 16’ Bombarde on the first manual, on the Great, and do we have on the Swell, we have Fagott, not Fagott, it’s called…what’s it called?

A:  ??

V: I think it’s called Basson. Yeah, like the German version.

A: So it’s Fagott.

V: German, English or French version of the Fagott, of the Basson. So basically it’s a softer reed than the Trumpet, but it works very well for playing fast bass lines, fast-running bass passages on the pedals - on the left hand part. So, there is like this famous “Christ Unser Herr…

A: ..zum Jordan kam”

V: Yes, from the Clavierȕbung Part 3 by Bach. And it has a running left hand part which could be effectively played with this 16’.

A: Yes, that’s a very nice option actually.

V: Then you would have tenor cantus firmus in the pedals, 8’ reed, and some other stops in the right hand playing the canon.

A: Yes, and in general, I like having 16’ stop on the manuals, because for me somehow it helps to make organ sound too screamy because it has so many mutations, and 2’ and 1’ stop, and 16’ to balance.

V: If the reed is loud, 16’ reed is loud like Bombarde 16’, then probably it’s best to reserve it for chordal texture, like chorus, fanfare-like sounds if you want to use on a bigger registration, in addition to other stops you would add 16’ Bombarde.

A: To make powerful sounds even more powerful. And you know, people often ask us how to reharmonize for example, the last stanza of a hymn, then in some cases it would be just enough to add the Bombarde for the last verse of the hymn.

V: I also notice that this Bombarde might make sound muddy if we’re not using even more high pitched stops.  So we already probably would have used mixture on the first manual before drawing the Bombarde 16’, and I like to add the Tierce, a third sound, 1⅗ together with the Bombarde, which then brightens up this powerful sound on the first manual.  Or if we have strong fingers, we could add a coupler to the Oberwerk, to the third manual, and then we will have an even brighter mixture together with the first manual.

A: So in any case, you need to experiment with your organ. Try various combinations and see what works, what does not work, and decide for yourself.

V: Then there is also this regional tradition. For example, in the Netherlands, there is interesting tradition to sing psalms - in the right hand part you would have solo melody which would be registered on the 8’ manual, registration but also on the 16’ registration in the right hand part, in the soprano. And we were told that it is due to the fact that the sound was sung by men one octave lower. So every country has its own tradition. For example, in the middle of Lithuania, this village church which has one manual organ without any pedal, just one single manual, and it has 16’ trumpet.

A: Yes, it’s very bizarre, yes.

V: Historical organ, amateur organ builder, by the way. Monastic - it is like an organbuilder/monk.  But he built an organ with a 16’ Trumpet.

A: And it doesn’t have divided keyboard.

V: No.

A: So that’s very bizarre.

V: I remember visiting that church long time ago with Professor (12:28) as part of the trip, organ study trip throughout Lithuania, with Ausra and some other colleagues from the Academy of Music in Lithuania, and we all tried this instrument, and I didn’t know what to play on that 16’ Trumpet, and I think I played Hindemith’s music a little bit.

A: Yeah.

V: Paul Hindemith. Okay, so I think we have discussed the 16’ registration on the manuals pretty extensively today. If you have any other observations and questions, please let us know. And remember, when you practice,

A: Miracles happen.

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