David Bridgeman-Sutton looks more closely at some of the twiddles, swirls and blobs high up on organ cases.

Ornament - applied and misapplied

Decoration is applied in a greater or lesser degree to every organ case. At its simplest, it consists of little more than the finish given to and the arrangement of, pipes: in a large organ the latter consideration alone becomes complex. Baroque organs usually involve a riot of carving, painting and gilding that amazes the eye.

Fig 1.

Pipe shades, (the shaped panels used to hide the ends of pipes "in prospect") are usually worth examining. The carving is rarely as elaborate and prominent as that at Weingarten* where the effect of grapevines is introduced (a play on the place name ), but often of interest.

The case to the new organ at Greyfriars' Kirk, Edinburgh. (fig 1) uses motifs of Scottish wildlife. Clockwise from top left are black grouse; capercailzie; pine marten and red squirrel.

The positive organ case has Greyfriars Bobby in its shades (fig 2.) This jolly terrier, remembered for his loyalty also appears in a local tavern name and in a statue. Near to Greyfriars is St Giles Cathedral. Here, in 1637, Jenny Geddes disliking the form of service, threw a faldstool at the Dean. St Giles now possesses a recent, large Rieger. (Martin Setchell concert 6 July 2003: no flying faldstools anticipated.)

Fig 2.

Austrian and Italian builders often omit pipe shades.

The late Fernando Germani, in conversation, said he thought that this was due originally to the widespread use of marble as a material for cases in those countries. This tends to reflect the higher sounds while offering little resonance for the bass; shades, which may slightly muffle the tone of case pipes, were therefore dispensed with.

The difficulty of working marble may also have been a factor; it is not insurmountable.

Whatever the reasons, many builders often leave pipe tops unclothed, as at Christchurch.

French builders often lavish much attention on detail. Historical and allegorical statuary and elaborate curlicues tend to hide in dark and distant corners. The interpretation of these needs a knowledge of mythology and of French history that is beyond most of us and only sometimes explained in a guide book.

Finally, (fig 3) a widely admired case is at St James, Garlickhythe in the City of London: the scallop shell is the badge of St James and it is impossible to miss this vastly overscale version. It gives an otherwise finely-proportioned case a top-heavy appearance and draws attention away from the finely carved trumpeting angels and the crown and mitres, symbols respectively of civil and ecclesiastical authority.

A further thought is that the round top central compartment might have been extended upward into an oval: this would have given the pipes greater height in relation to their scale.

P.S. An artist is interested in the processes of painting, gilding and silvering pipes. If anyone has practical tips to offer, or can suggest useful reading, we'll pass details on.

Feel free to email with questions or feedback

Other musings in Views and Reviews:

• Blenheim Palace
• Snetzler serendipity
• Alfred Hollins
• Organ Voices
• Blowers 2
• Blowers 3
• Organ Cases
• Organ Cases 2
• Organ Cases 3
• Organ Cases 4
• Organs - plain or painted?
• Canterbury Cousins