What is the definnition of a Chorus Reed? What features or tone
qualities makes a particular reed a chorus reed? Are there different
functions for trumpets with open parallel shallots vs. a trumpet with a
triangular opening in the shallot?</p>
I would appreciate hearing comments from everyone</p>
As I have often said before, I am no expert in this area but I do have a fair capability to do web searches. I found very few references about "Chorus Reeds",but I did find one that divided organ reed stops into 2 categories: "Chorus Reeds" and "Orchestral Reeds". The distinction so postulated avers that some reed stops are designed to closely simulate actual orchestral instrument sounds--sometimes even particular individual instruments--whereas others are not intended to be as imitative and serve more to create an impression of that kind of sound. An "Orchestral Oboe" would fall into the second category, but a "Hautbois" or just "Oboe" probably is not imitative. It appears (from the online Encyclopedia of Organ Stops) that almost all Tuba stops are Chorus Reeds--I did not find one that was declared to be imitative (but I could have just missed some). Oddly enough, the encyclopedia does list an "Orchestral Tuba" but says that the pipes are identical but the stop of this name is enclosed. On the other hand, according to the encyclopedia, most Clarinet stops are intended to be imitative, thus "Orchestral Reeds".</P>
If the first reference is accurate, the difference between "Chorus" and "Orchestal" reeds is basically that the former is non-imitative of real instruments and the latter is intended to be imitative. The former is more commonly used in concert with other stops and the latter are often used as solo stops. (Of course, the organist may at any time alter those usages.)</P>
I am certain that other, more experienced and educated persons on this board will provide a more in-depth treatment of your question, but this should be a start.</P>
Chorus reeds are like the brass in an orchestra. Among other things, they add power. </P>
There are different kinds of chorus reeds and they all have different tonal colors such as a smooth and broad sounding tuba tone to an edgy and brilliant bombarde. Some examples would be a bassoon, clarion, cornopean, hautbois, oboe, posaune, and trompette. These reeds can also be used as solo voices. </P>
Solo reeds are imitative. An organist doesn't usually use them in ensembles because they don't blend very well. Examples of these would be clarinet, French horn, and an orchestral oboe. </P>
Although, some more earlier reeds could be used for solo or ensemble uses such as a krummhorn, regal, or a dulcian, </P>
An example of a simple reed chorus would be bassoon 16, trumpet 8, and clarion 4. You can combine reeds with mixtures for a fiery sound. </P>
This would be my more general explanation. Once we start talking about different genres of organ music, then things become more detailed. For example in Baroque music, using a 16 or 8 reed in pedals is common if you want to put emphasis on a climactic part, but you have to be judicious in their use and you have to be careful not to play such a combination faster than the pipes can speak. Reeds are used in this genre of music in situations of climax or chordal passages where they won't obscure the movement of voices. With Romantic music things are much different. For example, a clarinet (solo reed), can give an eerie and mystical sound when used for low-pitched low chords. </P>
Solo reeds are imitative. An organist doesn't usually use them in ensembles because they don't blend very well. Examples of these would be clarinet, French horn, and an orchestral oboe--quote</P>
why do they blend well in the symphonic ensembles and NOT ensembles of unison flutes strings and even diapasons?</P>
the walker theater in brooklyn ny has a 2-10 wurli with solo reeds that blend so well that an orch oboe and clarinet combined produce a new sound--not a clarinet and oboe playing together--a new compound sound---i disagree with the notion that orch stops dont blend---if the symphony orch didnt blend then they would have gone extinct a long time ago</P>
Solo reeds are imitative. An organist doesn't usually use them in ensembles because they don't blend very well. Examples of these would be clarinet, French horn, and an orchestral oboe. </p>
Although, some more earlier reeds could be used for solo or ensemble uses such as a krummhorn, regal, or a dulcian, </p>
[/quote]</p>
Not all Solo Reeds are imitative. (Ex: that Rohr Schalmei 4' found in Austin organs built in the 70's-80's. One could say that it imitates the Shawm of times past, but I would find that difficult to prove! The Rohr Schalmei provides an interesting timbre for solo use, but when played with the 8' Trompette, it sounds like somebody sat on the chorus!) Another example would be the Vox Humana or the Aeoline (reed).</p>
the 3m 1973 austin in the chapel at e liberty pres pittsburgh penn has a 4ft oboe schalmey on the swell. this is a different construction than the rohr schalmei. the oboe schalmey as voiced there is a fiery petit trompette 4 in its tone and quite impressive.</P>
at the recital hall at kent state u in ohio is a 1960 schantz 3m. the sw reeds r dulzian 16 trompette 8 and rohr schalmey 4. as a chorus they are very successful ans as solo tonalities the 16 and the 4 are very nice.</P>
gdh of a-s in the 50s began introducing the rohrschalmei 4 on the sw as opposed to the larion 4 or hautbois 4 and joe whiteford continued that practice later in the 60s. a-s made tonal changes to the historic 1935 organ at church of the advent in boston. one change was the removal of the sw clarion 4 for a new rohrschalmei 4. this may have been reverses by j ambrosino the curator at that place,</P>
in 1948 his lawer dad bought him a vp at a-s for 50k</P>
a-s was hurting and gdh needed the money to keep the co afloat</P>
whiteford was gdh assistant</P>
in 1954 gdh became fed up with virgil and the riverside deal</P>
virgil kept changing the spec everyday</P>
also he wouldnt allow a positiv as preped on the 1948 5m a-s console</P>
gdh handed the project over to joe his vp</P>
joe designed the organ</P>
early glimpses of joe r seen in the spec</P>
a tapered 4ft principal in the gt</P>
a smallish 8ft principal on the gt</P>
the nomenclature he liked was holzgedackt NOT gedeckt</P>
gdh still maintained control but he just wanted the job to move and not remain stagnated</P>
so u find gdh rankett 16 on the gt</P>
a baroque reed for use against the choir baroque flutes</P>
the pedal is very whiteford</P>
no 16 open wood</P>
just the previous gt open 16 reworked to contrebasse 16 and the previous large wood violone reworked to principal 16</P>
the open 32 had its mouths lowered and bearded and became part of the contrebasse unit</P>
the 16ft part is metal and behind the console in the gt-solo-ped chamber</P>
the 32 is wood and is on the opposite side in the last bay</P>
when gdh succomed to the heat and exhaustion of nyc summer 1956 with a subway strike and having to walk after a long hot no a/c day at st thomas at 5th and 53rd in manhattan he had a drink as usual at his apt on 3rd av and around 11pm was watching victor borje and laughing his head off when the big one came and gdh was gone</P>
remains were untouched till next morning and a funeral was held in the hamptons where he was a member of an anglican parish with a 121 EM skinner that he tuned</P>
whiteford became president and till 1966 remained when he moved to cal for health reasons</P>
there he was a-s sales rep</P>
in 1973-76 wnc was rebuilt to specs by whiteford that had been contemplated from the early 60s</P>
3 divisions were added by -a-s and the chamade in the 60s</P>
first time i met jonathan ambrosino at yale he was barely out of his teens and made a snide remark about the ''whiteford'' era of a-s</P>
no wonder he is eager as consultant to wnc to get rid of the organ</P>
joe fell down the steps and died in 1978 at age 56</P>
[quote user="Austin766"]Slightly O-T, but who, exactly was Joseph S. Whiteford (the same Whiteford mentioned above)? Was he an employee of A-S, like Gilbert and Adams?
[/quote]</P>
</P>
<P mce_keep="true"></P>
And thats Gilbert Adams, singular. Not two differnt people.</P>
<P mce_keep="true"></P>
<P mce_keep="true"></P>
<P mce_keep="true"></P>
A helpful tutorial found at the site http://www.theatreorgans.com/gives a quick overview of Theater organ voicing and while it doesn't credit anyone as the authority for the information supports much of what David shared from his research. In general the term chorus means that the tone can be used as a foundation for color and yet balance well with combinations.
If you were to visit Church of the Covenant in University Circle in Downtown Cleveland on the gallery console there is a tag which says Joseph Whiteford. I just had never heard or seen his name before visiting Covenant. Sorry about muddling up Gilbert Adams name, I thought he was tow separate people (boy was I wronng)
Looks like you’re enjoying the discussion, but you haven’t signed up for an account yet.
Tired of scrolling through the same posts? When you create an account you’ll always come back to where you left off. With an account you can also post messages, be notified of new replies, join groups, send private messages to other members, and use likes to thank others. We can all work together to make this community great. ♥️
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Tweet
</P>
Comment