Burstwerk, Oberwerk in English name?

[wyzwinszh]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply which made me understand；
Hauptwerk(head Keyboard)--Great,
Ruckpositif(back Keyboard)--Choir(chair).

Another questions raised:
1)Burstwerk(Chest keyboard), Oberwerk(Upper keyboard) in its English name?
2)The functions/positions for them?
3)New Grove, term "Organ", Bach's Organ: Bonifaiuskiche, Arnstadt---Hauptwerk (Oberwerk)&Brustwerk?(2 manuals, but Hauptwerk with Oberwerk)?

Thanks again!

WYZ:devil:

[douçaine]

I frequently play a Flentrop organ where Oberwerk (marked Hauptwerk, but really an Oberwerk) is on I and Brustwerk on II; it's very comfortable, as I can make the loud registration do its thing well above my head (not deafening me, that is), and then shift up one manual for a more intimate sound. Oberwerk just refers to the pipework being above (über) the rest of the organ, and Brustwerk just refers to the chests being at the breast (brust) of the organist.
On the Gabler organ at Weingarten, the Oberwerk is II while the Brustwerk is all the way on IV; it's a big jump (and I question the usefulness of the Echowerk being lower than the Brustwerk), but that is a very historic order for it all. The Oberwerk can often substitute for the Hauptwerk--in a lot of Bach editions, the forte is marked to be played on the Oberwerk, with the piano on the Rückwerk, for which you can substitute the Brustwerk for variety or by default--play the bits marked Oberwerk on the Hauptwerk when there is one. Only on big organs do we see both an Oberwerk and a Hauptwerk.
Oddly enough, I have a feeling Cavaillé-Coll was aiming at something like this at St. Sulpice. He has G-C and G-O (the Hauptwerk), then Positif and Bombarde (which imitates very well a German Brustwerk with the right stops drawn, as the mixture is very charming and warm), and then Récit (which has two very bright mixtures and is an Oberwerk in all but name). Bombarde, on the same level as Positif, is just an expansion of the G-O, this time with the deep mutations and the chamade. Despite details like mixture compositions, this is in most cases a good organ for polyphonic literature with echo effects on principal choruses. The lack of ears on principals and the bold treatment of high pitches accentuates this. I am very fond of that organ, as you can see.