REPAIR & REFURBISHMENT
Vital organs
The sight and sound of a pipe organ in full ow is truly breathtaking. These magni cent
constructions require rare skills and expertise to keep them in pristine condition
Pipe organs have a long and
illustrious history, with the
Greek engineer and physicist
Ctesibius acknowledged as
the creative brain behind
their origins. It was back in 246BC, in
Alexandria, Egypt, that he brought
together the arts of metalworking and
precision fabrication, along with a deep
understanding of uid dynamics. His most
ingenious contribution was a method of
pumping and storing air at a controlled
pressure.
“Air was channelled through pipes by
the movement of water and music was
produced by a simple keyboard,” explains
iPlantE member Robin Newby. The air
By Brian Wall
was stored in a relatively large plenum
chamber, immersed in a water bath, then
pumped in by a manually-operated piston
pump and allowed to bubble out of the
bottom at a pressure that was stabilised
by the hydrostatic head of water. The
organ’s operation involved a continuous
air ow out of the bell jar, so the sound
of bubbling water may have been an
integral background to every musical
performance.
Happily, the tradition of pipe organ
building has ourished down the centuries
and the results can be found around the
globe in vast numbers. Although less
commonly installed today, pipe organs
are integrated into many churches and
cathedrals in the UK – from the Anglican
Cathedral Grand Organ, Liverpool, with
its 10,000-plus pipes, built by Henry
Willis & Sons, to the Royal Festival Hall’s
magni cent Harrison & Harrison organ,
a 7,866-pipe instrument, now newly
restored, that forms the centrepiece of
the auditorium.
THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS
But what actually makes a pipe organ a
… pipe organ? Five elements must be
present: organ pipes, a mechanism to
operate the pipework, a chamber that
stores wind, and a console – at which the
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