Boardwalk Hall organ- Solo Carillon IV

[@timothygriscom7110]

Remember that tuned bells produce strange harmonics that don’t play well with each other because they are untempered. Those harmonics produce resultants and heterodynes that can be ugly but are characteristic of the carillon. I think the stop met its mark.

[@timothygriscom7110]

lol, I just watched this video again and was about to make the same comment.

[@hootinouts]

I really appreciate these videos. It treats those of us who are pipe organ enthusiasts with a rare opportunity to gain more knowledge and appreciation of this rare and wondrous instrument. The genius and of Senator Richards and the skill and talents of all the unsung craftsmen who hand built every piece of this amazing treasure is astounding. In electronic music, there is what is called ring modulation. The early synthesizers had this on the patch panels and was the basic for creating gong and bell sounds. I built a ring modulator from a book on making your own effects. Let me tell you, trying to play a scale through that on electric guitar was more bizarre than what we hear in this video.

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

Definitely sounds like a train horn at the bottom! But when you play it with a 16' rank, I can hear the sound of a carillon! I believe it is intended to mimic the harmonics of large brass bells such as you might find in a church tower.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

1:52 The Stopped Harmonic Flute Rank is named after Mozart's Magic Flute. They often put the name on the Lowest C pipe.

[@vyvianspipes]

Really crazy timbre!! What fun though. An absolute favorite!

[@generalcancel]

Stephen Smith tells me that 17-19-21-22 compositions were quite common once and that he probably wasn't paying proper attention when he penned that entry in the book. He apologizes. He also points out that, on page 293, the correct composition is detailed.

[@cnagorka]

Yep, sure enough, it is right in the back index. No apologies needed, the book was a staggering undertaking which has become canon for all of us BH organ enthusiasts.

[@timothytikker3834]

Cavaillé-Coll's Carillon stop was III, composed 2-2/3' 1-3/5' 1' (12 17 22). Including a flat seventh makes the tone reedy rather than bell-like, I'd say.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

3:27 Speaking of that stopped Harmonic Flute, the Lowest Octave is still intact but the rest of them on the last 4 Octaves were replaced w/ the same type of pipes tuned to the right notes. It says 17, 19, 21, 22 in the book but they made an error so it's really 17, 19, 21, 24. 22 is Unison Pitch 24 is a Major third.

[@RobertJohnsonmusic]

Your detailed walk through this 'strangest stop in the organ' is a distinct treat, Chris. Marvelous stuff.

[@cnagorka]

Just wait until we get to the massive eleven rank mixture in the Great, I'm VERY much looking forward to having it play again.

[@RobertJohnsonmusic]

@@cnagorka Oh wow. ‘Looking forward to that treat!! Thank you!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

7:24 Full 5 Octave Diatonic C Major Scale on Solo Carillon IV Mixture. So w/ this Mixture every Key produces a Bluesy Dominant 7th Chord, & just like every mixture it breaks back so that it dosen't go too high.

[@jamesrmcgalliard137]

It actually sounds like the overtones of a large carillon bell. Wow!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It rings.

[@CeruleanFilms]

I'm almost surprised this organ doesn't have a rank of actual bells. I know it has chimes.

[@thetheatreorgan168]

@@CeruleanFilms -ferb i know what are we going to do today~~

[@kuiperroerdink1670]

Love the content!! Keep it going it’s great !

[@analog_mind]

When you played the first key i thought there was a train passing into the hall ahahahah. What a strange stop, actually never heard of it...

[@jk86tech]

Thank you for this detailed insight into this special stop - I am not a music person, so I probably would never thought about or heard the special situation of this stop when played in a piece of music. If you have time, can you please do similar demonstrations of other notable stops of the organ? During some of your other great videos you mentioned here and there, that a specific stop sounds in a certain remarkable way down in the hall etc., so those probably would be a great candidate for those detailed demonstrations. Sorry for my ignorance not knowing the names of those stops or other facts about the organ in general - I really enjoy organ music and am interested in the technical side of the organ, but my music skills are basically non existing :D If Atlantic City would be a little bit more reachable for me, I definitively would visit the boardwalk hall and listen to the organ in real life. Thank you for making the videos about the boardwalk hall organ and keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany!

[@cnagorka]

Yes, a couple people have asked for sound demonstrations of various stops, and it's a good idea. It will take a lot of preparation but it will definitely be worth the trouble.

[@monikawojdak3037]

Sehr gut erklärt von der großen Orgel der Arena.Ist mein Fachgebiet und sehr interessant diese Orgel von innen zu sehen.Einfach mega genial.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@cnagorka]

Vielen Dank für Ihre freundlichen Kommentare. Ich liebe es, diese Videos auf der ganzen Welt zu sehen. Ich spreche kein Deutsch, ich habe für diesen Kommentar "Google Translate" verwendet.

[@scronx]

Very interesting -- thank you. Does this seem more like a Pedal mixture to you? I suspect that's why it 'works' with the lower range of that tuba.

[@bachtehude2437]

Reminds me of the Harrison Harmonics mixture - designed to reinforce the harmonics of the reed chorus

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

22 is actually a 1 ft Super Octave & 24 is a 4/5 ft Third

[@kellyb0279]

It's like foldback on the hammomd organ

[@Firemandave911]

Strange....But I like it!!!!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

A Reed Mixture would be cool along w/ Mutation reed ranks etc. The International Touring Organ has an extended Pedalboard. It would be great if the Boardwalk Hall Organ was available on Hauptwerk & as a Digital Organ people can jam on at home from Johannus,

[@monikawojdak3037]

Oh da freue ich Mich des Du geantwortet hast.Ich bin fanatischer Orgel Fan und eben die Technik von der Orgel finde ich mega.Vorallem ich kann es verstehen was gemeint ist an der Orgel wenn was kaputt ist.Ob wohl Du kein Deutsch kannst.Aber kann es mir denken was gemeint ist von der Orgel.Man des ist ja ne Arena da wo die Orgel eingebaut worde.Hammer mega geil.Ja ich spiele auch Orgel ohne Noten Kenntnisse.Habe es mir alleine einstudiert.Ist eben de Königin der Instrumente.Ja des tut mir immer leid wenn solche Orgel kaputt geht war.Die Orgel hat ja auch sehr große Bass Pfeifen.Was haben die für ein Durchmesser wenn ich fragen darf?"Du hast ja auch haufen Technik zu stehen in de Wohnung einfach klasse.Ich habe auch nen Musik Kanal zusammen gestellt da siehste Mich an meine Instrumente spielen.Ganz toll des Du geantwortet hast.Alles Liebe aus Deutschland Gemany Dessau.Monika die Instrumenten Qwälerin.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

[@jeremyrusu9687]

What a wild set of intervals to make that stop but yet so cool at the same time. I would have fun tuning that although I know it’s a chore but as I’m a piano tuner, I wouldn’t mind the challenge.

[@cnagorka]

The ungodly high pressure is what makes it difficult to tune, not the intervals so much!

[@jeremyrusu9687]

@@cnagorka I can imagine. That, and the very loud volume as a result. Do you wear hearing protection while tuning those kinds of ranks?

[@cnagorka]

@@jeremyrusu9687 Usually yes. Sometimes you have to partially take out the protection to hear higher harmonics, even with the intense volume.

[@jeremyrusu9687]

@@cnagorka I could see that. I’ve never worn hearing protection as a piano tuner or while doing most things. Luckily for me I’ve been in bands that don’t play too too loud and in a variety of different music styles on different instruments and genres so it hasn’t been a constant issue. I have experimented with earplugs while playing Bagpipes though but I still prefer things without the protection as loud as they can be, although not as loud as what you have to deal with

[@russellmeyer4353]

Cavaille-Coll regularly did 3-rank Carillon mixtures with this composition: 12-17-22 (2-2/3' - 1-3/5' -1').

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

What is a Stopped Harmonic Flute? Chimney Flutes are Stopped Flutes because the caps make the sound waves double over on themselves.

[@timothytikker3834]

A stopped harmonic flute overblows to the third harmonic. This is because, being a stopped pipe, it only has odd-numbered harmonics, so there is no second harmonic for it to overblow to. Notice that the stopped harmonic pipe shown in this video has a harmonic hole drilled in the side of the body, and that it's higher than where it would be on an open pipe overblown to the second harmonic; this is because the hole is drilled at the point of the third harmonic node. A chimney flute is not harmonic. It's a stopped pipe playing at its normal fundamental, while the chimney merely adds a limited amount of the even-numbered harmonic content of an open pipe. A chimney flute is only slightly longer than an unchimneyed stopped pipe, while a harmonic stopped pipe is three times normal stopped pipe length (i.e. 1 & 1/2 times normal open pipe length).

[@matthewprovost5938]

Maybe this stop is NOT meant to be used in chorus, as in, not for chords and ensemble textures, or mixed with a reed. Maybe it's to be used like a chime, or other solo line when a large (huge!) bell effect is desired. Chimes on steroids, but NOT a chorus mixture. Just a thought . . . Cheers!

[@wurlitzer165]

@Cnagorka It doesn't sound like the 16' Tuba Magna; it sounds like the 8' Tuba Imperial on 100" of wind. It's around 8:48.

[@cnagorka]

No, it was the Tuba Magna. I didn't even have the compressor turned on.

[@wurlitzer165]

Oh, I thought it was the Imperial on 100" of wind. Speaking of 100", when are the Gallery I reeds going to resound in it's might the first time since 1962?

[@cnagorka]

@@wurlitzer165 I'm not speaking for them but I would guess later this year.

[@MegaMobass]

Sounds similar to a train horn on its own at the lower pitches. Very neat to see some of this odd ball stuff.

[@cnagorka]

Yep I'm a sucker for mutations.

[@MegaMobass]

@@cnagorka me too, makes my brain hurt trying comprehend how it works but I love hearing them.

[@MegaMobass]

@@cnagorka I should also add, it’s the strangest stop you’ve found so FAR. Haha I’m sure the senator still has a few tricks up his sleeve yet.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

1:44 This is a 1 1/3 ft Quint

[@seanwelch71]

It sounds cool.

[@tomast3108]

And combinations: Carillon IV + Stentor Diapason 8´ + Stentor Octave 4´; Carillon IV + Major Flute 8´ (+ Wald Flute 4´) ? :-)

[@christiantedesco1477]

Tiny bit confused as to how a stopped harmonic pipe works. A harmonic pipe is double lengh to overblow, but a stopped pipe is half lengh, wouldnt that cancel out? And why does the tierce have three holes for the harmonic effect? Im so confused by this.. Thing!!

[@cnagorka]

Yeah it's kind of ridiculous. So, for one thing, Midmer-Losh pretty consistently used three holes for the "regular" double length harmonic flutes. That's just a matter of style- some builders use one bigger hole, and some don't use any holes at all and get them to overblow without them. As for the stopped harmonic pipes, it appears that it overblows two octaves over what the stopped pipe would sound, but I'm not certain of that. I do know that if you look a the length of the stopped harmonic with the open pipe in front of it, they look exactly the same length, but the stopped harmonic pipe is actually speaking a higher pitch than the open pipe! Zauberflotes aren't super common and maybe that's why, they're just more trouble than they're worth to make.

[@agogobell28]

I believe a stopped harmonic pipe actually speaks at the twelfth of the non-harmonic pipe.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@agogobell28 They generally have a Harmonic hole in the back at that note

[@timothytikker3834]

@@cnagorka A stopped pipe can't overblow to two octaves above fundamental, or for that matter any octave above fundamental, because all the octave harmonics are even-numbered, and the stopped pipe has only odd-numbered harmonics. So a harmonic stopped pipe overblows to the third harmonic, making it three times the length of a normal stopped pipe, i.e. one and half times the length of an open pipe.

[@timothytikker3834]

Having more than one harmonic hole is meant to stabilize the overblown pitch more than is possible with just one hole. Maybe Midmer-Losh found this to be a necessity on such extremely high wind pressures.

[@BRadfrommalibu74]

Can you explain the numbers in the stop description?

[@cnagorka]

They are the interval above unison, for example, if you say "8", it's one octave above unison pitch, or a rank of 4' pitch, "12" is an octave and a fifth above unison, or a rank of 2 2/3' pitch, etc.

[@timstoffel4799]

Certainly one of the more interesting organ voices I have ever heard. The fact it has been fiddled with so much suggests that it was both useful (to someone) and intriguing. Thank you for making it back in what it was supposed to be, strange as it is! Also, what is the book you were quoting from?

[@cnagorka]

"Atlantic City's Musical Masterpiece" by Stephan Smith.

[@brianshaw373]

Okay, that’s rather weird sounding. Maybe even alarming. 😂

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

So with this rank, you're playing a Dominant 7th Chord w/ just one key. Very common Chord in Jazz Music, Blues, & even Rock.

[@cnagorka]

You are, basically!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@cnagorka It sounds rather bluesy & it's really common for Jazz. This Organ is certainly versatile.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@cnagorka It breaks back because I believe it was meant to do that, & the pipes from C3 & higher had to be replaced but they were supposed to be the original pitch.

[@cnagorka]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 All of the original pitch levels of the rank are intact, it's just that high pitched tierce was replaced for whatever reason, but it is speaking the pitch originally intended.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@cnagorka So the Top Tierce is still at its original pitch, the pipes were replaced w/ new ones at the same pitch. It was originally meant to break back so that it wouldn't go too high. The book has an error it's supposed to say 17, 19, 21, 24. 22 is a Unison pitch & 24 is a High Tierce.

[@mitchellscheffler9100]

I don’t know much about pipe organs. Some pipes don’t appear to weigh very much and he said they operate on a lot of wind pressure. What keeps the pipes from blowing out of the wind chest/toe board?

[@richardbyrd6000]

High or low pressure is relative to organs. 30 (water) inches of wind is only about 1 PSI. Someone else may know better, but I think some of the highest pressure ranks on that organ have devices to keep pipes from blowing out.

[@pocanthutrex3356]

Pardon me for not knowing squat about pipe organs, but WHY would the designers "break back" an octave on the keyboard in the first place?

[@cnagorka]

Most higher pitched "mixture" stops of this type "break back" in various places, otherwise the pipes would become impossibly small to hear and/or build.

[@pocanthutrex3356]

@@cnagorka Gotcha. Thanks for the reply.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

There are 128 ft Organ pipe ranks

[@chrisnagorka5199]

Actually there aren't. There are a couple resultants shown on YT as a joke.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@chrisnagorka5199 Here's what I mean:kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYjTn2qurt-Ip8k & yes that Solo Carillon IV Mixture was originally meant to break back so this is the 1st time in decades each rank is sounding the right notes.

[@chrisnagorka5199]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 Yep, exactly what I said, it's a joke, and a pretty elaborate one!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@chrisnagorka5199 At least the Solo Carillon IV mixture is sounding the right notes for the very 1st time. The Book Says 17, 19, 21, 22 but they made an error it should be 17, 19, 21, 24. 22 is a Unison Pitch at 1 ft & 24 is a Major Third pitch at 4/5 ft.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@chrisnagorka5199 The Pipes from Tenor C to Double High C are the same as those in the Lowest Octave, they've just been replaced.

[@brandtfj]

wow...this is complicated... I wonder what a bunch of old Muffler pipes would sound like?

[@ryankennedy3109]

The kind of stop best enjoyed from 200 feet away. Your poor ears...

[@rowanlidbury]

Scrap it.

[@richardstoc]

I just wonder what the music of that time would ever use such conglomeration of weird stops and if you added a trimulant good lord it boggles the mind ... think he was using the spaghetti method?