Search results
The English organ: how it evolved through history - Classical ...
Introduction. The history of the organ in England is a long one, dating back to the tenth century at least. Sources from the late middle ages through the Renaissance give ample evidence of organs in the British Isles, particularly in association with monastic institutions, larger churches and cathedrals, and the royal chapel.
The English organ of the second half of the eighteenth century developed from the essential characteristics of the instrument of the first half. In general, builders sought a more refined tone in the principal chorus, and a general roundness of sound seems to have been a goal.
- Overview
- Background
- Impact
- Further Reading
The early history of European music is well entwined with the history of Christianity. At the very center of their mutual development stands the pipe organ. The organ and the music written for it reached a pinnacle of importance during the seventeenth century, but one must look to developments during the Middle Ages to understand how the organ came...
The very name "organ" reveals the dual place of that instrument in the history of music and the history of technology. The term "organon" was first used by Plato (427?-347 b.c.) and Aristotle (384-322 b.c.) to denote any kind of tool; only later did it come to refer specifically to the well-engineered assembly of pipes and bellows that make up the ...
By 1450 the organ had assumed a prominent place in liturgical music. Organs evolved alongside musical notation, both serving to fix notes and the relations between them for the first time. Detailed technological accounts of organ designand construction—and a few surviving examples—indicate a sophisticated level of craftsmanship and engineering. Dif...
Baker, David. The Organ: A Brief Guide to Its Construction, History, Usage, and Music.Buckinghamshire, UK: Shire, 1993. Hopkins, Edward J. The Organ, Its History and Construction.Amsterdam: F.A.M. Knuf, 1972. Niland, Austin. Introduction to the Organ.London: Faber, 1968. Sumner, William. The Organ: Its Evolution, Principles of Construction, and Use...
The 15th and 16th centuries witnessed significant tonal and mechanical advances and the emergence of national schools of organ building. By the early 17th century all the essential elements of the instrument had been developed, and subsequent developments involved either tonal changes or technological refinements.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
organs were modest in both size and in the musical demands made upon them. Single manuals, no pedals and no reeds or mixture stops: they were servants of the choral liturgy, although this is not to overlook the emergence of the English organ as a secular instrument in more monied households. English history has, from the 16th century onwards, been
People also ask
How has the English organ evolved through history?
What is the history of organs in England?
Who invented the organ?
Who made organs in the 17th century?
This standard work on the history of organs built in England between AD 900 and the present day takes full advantage of recent research and new discoveries. It describes the most significant instruments of each period together with details of their builders, set against a background of changes in music and liturgy.
