Keyboard (organ)

the Orgue is oldest instrument with keyboard of the history and it is thus for the organ that the keyboard was invented. It is during IIIe century before our era, in Alexandria, that the engineer Ctésibios develops the first organ named “hydraule”, with the favor of its research on the elasticity of the air. Each pipe has a small pull knob recalled by a spring which makes it possible to make enter the air and produce the sound. The ancestor of the keyboard was born, at the same time as the ancestor of the organ! …

History of the keyboard

The ancestor of the keyboard, according to the archaeological discoveries, initially simply consisted of small sliding wood blades, of the strips, which sealed the hole by which the air arrived. There was one pipe by note, the keyboard was diatonic and covered two or three octaves. When the musician drew the strip, the pipe spoke without stop. It was necessary to push back the strip to stop the sound. One thinks that the idea to put a return spring so that closing is done all alone by releasing the strip is also due to Ctésibios. During a time, the two types of keyboard coexisted: keyboard with keys with manual closing and keyboard with keys with automatic closing by spring. These springs were out of flexible wood (reed, bamboo) or out of metal (bronzes, brass).

Each keyboard being the reflection of the music which is played at its time, the first keyboards comprised only the simple notes of the diatonic range, which was made up only of 6 notes corresponding to the hexacorde and started with F and not with C as we have the practice of it today. It will be necessary to await the Early middle ages to see appearing gradually the additional keys, to start with if, absent from the hexacorde. It is known that the first historical deteriorations are B flat and B natural met in IXe and employees usually in XIIe. The two notes bearing the same name of solmisation, one seeks to differentiate them on the keyboard to prevent that they are confused. Thus will appear the pretenses, keys of color, position and form different which one gradually will intercalate in withdrawal above and between the diatonic keys (that one calls steps).

The invention of B flat comes from what the interval F-if were considered to be dissonant (increased quad, famous “the triton”). Also the singers dropped naturally so in si♭ to obtain an interval considered consonnant, F-si♭ giving a pure quad. This is why to accompany the singer one added to the keyboard of the primitive organ an additional, inserted key between it and if. One gave him the Latin name of “B weakened” (if softened), in opposition to the “B quadratus” (the so hard one), denominations from which come the musical terms flat and natural sign.

The word “pretended”, which indicates the keys corresponding to the deteriorated notes, comes from Musica ficta (pretended or false music). Indeed, one had recourse to the notes " fausses" (i.e. located apart from the natural Range) with each time one wanted to modulate (with the direction first: to change mode). Thus gradually one added the pretenses corresponding to the really sung notes and which made it possible to supplement the ranges of the other degrees. After if and B flat (which attracts major F and minor D), one will add the F sharp (for G major) E flat (for the tonality of major B flat), A flat and the C sharp. This transition was done gradually and not always in this order according to the needs and the manufacturers, but one knows which is located roughly between 12th and 13th. The result of this evolution is at the end of 13th where, put aside the variations in the width of the keys, the keyboard is presented from now on in the form that one knows to him, an octave consisting of 7 steps and 5 pretenses, this group being repeated with identical to cover desired tessiture. However, more than three centuries after this attempt at standardization, Michael Prætorius writes in 1619 qu ' it is still some organ whose keyboards are simply diatonic and present only one pretense, B flat. It is also known that the organ that Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck touched did not have a D sharp. Thus, the parts which he writes for organ, except some exceptions, never do not use this key.

It also should be noted that on certain keyboards until the end of the period baroque, the first C sharp frequently absent because is almost ever used with low in an unequal temperament.

On organ, generally of modest size and mainly in Italy during the time baroque, one meets also the short Octave. The largest pipes being most expensive, this clever system made it possible to save the cost of some serious notes little used. The short octave comprised only 6 or 7 notes, preserving the diatonic notes and sacrificing the faded notes. It is probably the short octave which supported the descent of the keyboard in the low register, starting with F with the Middle Ages to go down to C and sometimes to during the time baroque.

Iconographic example

Testimonys of a past which one has no physical specimen unfortunately, the tables and engravings are a good means of seeing what the keyboards of the Middle Ages resembled. One supposes readily that the painters of the time, in particular those carrying out of the orders for the church, were meticulous person and reproduced exactly what they saw, especially when one is in front of a kind of painting which privileges the least detail.

It is the case of the triptych carried out by an anonymous painter of 15th called the Master of Saint Barthelemy. The left side shutter represents Saint Jean the Baptist and Holy Cecile playing on a portable organ. The detail opposite watch the hand of Holy Cecile and the small keyboard of the instrument. It is noted that it misses a pretense and if the diagram of the keyboard is respected strictly by the painter, it probably acts of the F sharp. We would thus have in this representation an intermediate example of keyboard not having received all the pretenses yet.

Various types of keyboards

comparative table of the keyboards

Note:

Much of organ of recent invoice or having been restored presents white keyboards to black pretenses, but the keyboards with old were made out of full wood, the dark steps and the clear pretenses. The practice to cover with bone or ivory the steps late, came with the evolution from the piano. Front, the opposite rather was made: ebony steps and pretenses in pear tree - blackened or not covered with bone or ivory.
Although the modern piano sounds only like one piano, at the beginning of XIXe one manufactured pianos having several plays, in particular the German pianos which counted some up to 6: Fortezug (strong), Pianozug (celestial), Verschiebung (una twisted), Lautenzug (lute), Fagottzug (bassoon), Janitscharenmusik (Turkish scene). But this practice disappeared quickly since 1840.

Characteristics of the keyboards of organ

During its history, the keyboard of organ gradually passed from 2 to 5 octaves. It is considered today that the active keyboard of 5 octaves of Do1 with Do6 and thus including/understanding 61 keys is the generally adopted standard. The American organ builders follow this standard almost systematically. In Europe and in particular in France, the majority of the factors continue to build organ with keyboards of 56 keys (Do1-Sol5) owing to the fact that there does not exist practically any work written for the organ which goes up beyond Sol5 (there are all the same the prelude and running away in major A flat of Marcel Dupre). Old copies of organ limit even the size of the keyboard to 54 notes (Do1-Fa5) even 53 (Mi5) and even 51 notes (Ré5), which many organists do not hesitate to criticize: these instruments have beautiful being of the copies the old ones, they are new instruments and to equip them with a standardized keyboard would not remove anything with their sound quality or esthetics.

The standard of the keyboard of 5 octaves to 61 keys was adopted from the start for all the modern keyboard instruments (Harmonium, electronic Orgue, numerical Orgue, Synthétiseur).

To the difference of the piano where the pianist concert performer is about sure to find the same keyboard everywhere where it will occur, the organist goes rather from surprised into surprised: there is not two identical organ and consequently there are not two identical keyboards. This difference is particularly sensitive when one plays on entirely mechanical organ. According to the width and the seniority of the instrument one can meet very light keyboards or on the contrary very hard. It is allowed that the ideal hardness of a keyboard of organ without coupling should require a force of depression of approximately 100 grams per key. In practice, and on normally playable instruments, this force varies from 80 to 200 grams. In on this side and beyond these limits, one considers that the instrument is difficult to play, even unplayable. There exist indeed instruments where it is necessary to exert a force of more than 500 grams per key what makes impossible any attempt at virtuosity.

On an organ with motor traction, the couplings add the weight with each keyboard and the organist must hold account of it. If each keyboard is playable individually, with a force of 150 gram for example, three coupled keyboards will ask for a force of support of 450 grams per finger…

These are the considerations which led the organ builders to relieve the fingers of the organist by introducing mechanisms of assistance, initially pneumatic with the machines Barker and then electromagnetic. However, for instruments of intermediate size, factors and organists continue to prefer the entirely mechanical organ for several obvious reasons:

For the factor, the breakdowns are rare and maintenance is easy;
for the organist, the touch is natural and the finger is in direct contact with the valve what allows a total control of the articulation, sensitivity goes away on a pneumatic or electric keyboard.

Names of the keyboards

One of the characteristics of the keyboards of the organ is that, when they are several (2 to 7), they bear different names. According to the times, the schools, the countries and the styles, these names vary. One can nevertheless release three invariants, they are the names generally allotted to the first three keyboards of the majority of the organ: Positive, Large Organ and Account. One observes sometimes consoles where the keyboards do not bear any name and are simply identified by a Roman numeral, I for the Large Organ, II for the Positive one and III for the Account. Here are the equivalents in the other languages:

Other names of keyboards

Bombards: Clavier that one meets mainly in large the instruments of the period baroque and to which correpond of big games of sheer (Bombarde, Trompette, Cromorne). It is used as complement with the Large Organ.
Solo: As its name indicates it, this keyboard corresponds primarily to plays soloists (Oboe, Saxophone); It meets on large instruments like 4th or 5th keyboard. On the other hand, in the Organ of theater, the solo is always 2nd or 3rd keyboard and its plays are locked up in a swell box known as " solo chamber".
Echo: In the beginning the keyboard of echo had one play, a horn, less present than that of the Large Organ and to which it could answer to create an echo effect. The modern keyboard of echo is generally of composition similar to that of positive, with softer plays. It generally acts as 4th or 5th keyboard. It is called sometimes also Écho of account.
Great Chorus: On very large instruments the plays of the keyboard of Large Organ are distributed on two keyboards; the Large Organ preserves the funds and the mixtures and the Great Chorus receives the sheers and the changes. If the large Organ is not reduced, then the sheers of the Great Chorus are generally more powerful than those of the Large Organ (Organ of St-Eustace, St-Sulpice, ND of Paris).
Accomp (Accompaniment, Accompaniment) : Keyboard reserved for the plays of accompaniment (generally dedicated to the left hand) in the Organ of theater.
Llamarada : Nom given by the factor Manuel Rosales to the fourth keyboard of the monumental organ of Walt Disney Concert Hall builds in 2004. This Spanish name means “blaze” and gathers very powerful plays (funds, sheers and chamades) in orchestral matter.
On the organ oversize of America, one also finds keyboards baptized Fanfare , Trompeteria , Orchestral (or Orchestra ), characteristics especially of the Orgue of theater.
Chorus or choral: Name given to the fourth or fifth keyboard on certain organ Casavant, containing very few sets of sheers.

Divided keyboards

Division is another characteristic of the keyboards of organ. Not very used in France, Germany or the United Kingdom, the divided keyboards is recontrent mainly in Italy and Spain. The principle in is very simple: instead of speaking on all the extent about the keyboard, the plays speak only on one half of the keyboard, is the lower half corresponding to the left hand and than one calls Basse, that is to say the higher half corresponding to the right hand than one calls Dessus. This technique of the half-play appears towards the end of XVIe and improves at the beginning of XVIIe. Thanks to this characteristic, the same keyboard can make hear the soprano and the viola of a play, the tenor and the low one of another play, whereas, on a modern organ, to carry out the same thing, it would be necessary to use two keyboards and to be even helped of the pedals because of the spacing of the parts. One of the promoters of this so particular kind is Francisco de Arauxo. It is of this time that we come the tientos from higher half-register and serious half-register. Few historical sources attest it, but it seems that it is well Spain which influenced Italy where one also finds in great number of the organ of modest size to divided keyboards. The only difference is the point of division: In Spain the cut is generally done on C-do# 3rd whereas in Italy the cut is done either on si2-do3 or on mi3-fa3 and sometimes on other positions (what complicates a little the life of the organists). In France the Tops always start in Do3 and in Germany they can start in La2 and sometimes with Fa2 but that relates to only the Horns.

As for the short octave that we saw higher, the division of the keyboard does not come from an esthetic choice but from economic constraints. A half play costs half less expensive than a whole play and this easy way made it possible to offer to the organist and the assistance a large variety of stamps at a reasonable cost.

It is also advisable to stress that this astute means to have a different stamp with the left hand and the right hand on the same keyboard was taken again on the Harmonium S (division in Do3) and on the Synthétiseur S (skeletal division).

Correspondence of the names of divisions:

Many keyboards

the French traditional organ has from 1 to 5 keyboards. The keyboards of the period baroque are generally and in the order: Positive, Large Organ, Bombards, Récit, Écho. The keyboards of Account and Echo are generally tops, i.e. they cover only the 3 highest octaves and include/understand only few plays, such as horn, flute and trumpet.
the French symphonic organ has from 2 to 5 keyboards. The keyboards all are complete and are generally in this order: Great Chorus, Large Organ, Positive, Account, Solo. The place of the Great Chorus is variable and the Positive one can be before the Large Organ. The majority of the works written for the symphonic organ require an instrument with 3 keyboards (G.O., Positif, Récit).
the largest instruments of the world are the Wanamaker organ with 6 keyboards and the organ of Convention Hall of Atlantic City with 7 keyboards, both in the United States.

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