Last week I wrote 7 Fascinating Facts About the Little-Known Handbell. This week I've pulled out all the stops to give you 7 facts for you about the underappreciated, yet majestic instrument, the pipe organ.
1. Organists play with our hands AND feet.
On the floor, there is a pedalboard that resembles a stretched-out piano. As an amateur organist I can assure you balancing on the organ bench while playing the pedals is no easy feat.
2. Pipe organs are the largest instrument in the world played by a single person.
The largest fully-functioning instrument is in Atlantic City, NJ and also bears the distinction of the loudest instrument worldwide.
3. Pipe organs were the most complex machine created before the Industrial Revolution.
'Nuff said.
4. Organs were banned in Soviet-controlled Europe because they were a symbol of the church and monarchy.
These matroschka dolls are overjoyed at the resurgence of the pipe organ in modern concert halls across Russia and Eastern Europe.
5. Pipe organs have stops (groups of pipes) named Oboe, Flute and Trumpet but they sound differently from their orchestral counterparts.
6. The Vox Humana organ stop is supposed to imitate human voices.
Listen and decide for yourself!
7. Oftentimes the visible pipes in a church or concert hall are a facade.
The real pipes are hidden behind them or in the wall and ceiling. If the visible pipe are all the same length, they're definitely fake!
Congratulations, you are a pipe organ aficionado now! Here's a handsome organist playing Coldplay's Viva La Vida for your listening enjoyment. ;)
