The Kellerorgel

Overview

Since 2003 there are two really different organs in Schillingen. First a positive organ with attached pedal, second a quite big organ built from parts of different church organs.

The following pages show some details about the organ in our cellar, which will be called Kellerorgel in the following pages.

The Stops

Wind Chests

Details of the Action

The Main Division as Chamber Organ in Greding

Trial and Errors

Description

Why Kellerorgel? Since it is placed in the cellar and because there is another organ in this house.

The whole project stated more or less by accident: I found the organ at Ebay and placed a bid. Since no one else participated in the auction I got it rather cheap. The owner however was happy with me as buyer since he feared that the organ may be sold in pieces in order to get as much money as possible out of it. He did not want his "baby" to be destroyed.

In the last years the instrument has been constantly growing. Right now, there are nine stops in ten ranks (the english count a Zimbel stop as two ranks).

The organ consists of two divisions which are controlled via two electronic keyboards.

The old pedal is also connected via MIDI. However there is no pedal division because the old subbass 16' was by far too large for this room. As alternative I use a fixed coupler to the main division.

There had been four wind chests, one for the upper division (or positive) and three for the main division: main wind chest, Viola da Gamba wind chest (pneumatically attached) and bass wind chest with 12 principal pipes and the subbbass.

The Viola da Gamba wind chest is now in Meerbusch in my small chamber organ. The only stop there is a Gedackt 8'.

The organ has been built 1903 by Binder and Son in Regensburg for the church of Erasbach. Later the stop "Viola da Gamba" was added.

The wind chest of the upper division was part of an organ in Bieber (Hessen).

Besides the keyboard, the organ can also be controlled by an Atari Falcon computer. This is useful to perform some tests and also to listen to nice music. I will never be a good organist.

n the prospect parts ot the oktav 4' and the biggest metal pipes of the principal 8' are displayed. Those pipes were too tall to be placed on the wind chests.

On the wind chest you can see that the smallest pipes of the Holzgedeckt 8' are metal pipes. The red rings connect the hats of the stopped pipes with the pipes themselves.

The book "Das Buch von der Orgel" lies on the wind chest. Besides Wolfgang Adelung's "Einführung in den Orgelbau" it is my most important knowledge source for the projects.

The console is now placed close to the upper division which had been a part of a neo- baroque Organ in Bieber (Hessen).

Disposition

Action

MIDI Action (MIDI - elektronic - pneumatic)

elektro- pneumatic register action

Disposition

Hauptwerk (Binder and Son, Regensburg, 1903)

• Prinzipal 8'
• Holzgedeckt 8'
• missing - Salizional 8'
• Oktave 4'
• Zimbel 2-3 ranks (Terzzimbel, 2 repetitions)

Positive (Upper Division) (Wind chest from the protestant church in Bieber)

• Lieblich Gedackt 8'- before Rohrflöte 8'
• Viola da Gamba 8' - before Gemshorn 4'
• Krummhorn 8'
• Prinzipal 2' (Superoktave)
• Siffflöte 1'

Pedal (No own wind chest, attached to the main divison)

The disposition in (and will be) incomplete. The missing stops were reused in other organs, thus I could not purchase them. From time to time there are stops sold in the internet... I cannot buy new stops.

This was the old disposition of the two divisions in the churches of Erasbach and Bieber:

Main Division (catholic Church of Erasbach)

• Prinzipal 8' (12 pipes on the pedal wind chest)
• Oktave 4'
• Salizional 8'
• Holzgedeckt 8'
• Mixtur 2-3 fach
• Viola da Gamba 8' (on an own wind chest)
• Subbass 16' (on the pedal wind chest)

Old Disposition of the Positiv (now uppder division):

Lower Division (protestant church of Bieber)

• Rohrflöte 8'
• Gemshorn 4'
• Superoktave 2'
• Quinte 1 1/3'
• Siffflöte 1'