Rodgers Trilogy - Musical Resources: String and Reed Families; The String Family; The Reed Family

This extreme development of harmonic partials allows this sound to blend
easily into quieter ensembles, giving them a "singing" quality, like the
sound of violins in the symphony orchestra. This tone quality is placed
on the Swell manual, where it is most useful in producing romantic sounds.
Broader, more Diapason-like strings are also on the Choir manual as aids
to the accompaniment function of that division.
On the 32- B there is an extra set of tone generators, playable on the Swell
manual, creating the Celeste effect. An organ Celeste is created by setting
precisely-tuned oscillators against purposely sharp-tuned oscillators. His-
torically, the resulting undulating "beat" is said to resemble "celestialvoices,"
hence the stop name "Voix Celeste. 'I This gently undulating sound is unequalled
in adding warmth and emotional depth to organ tone. The compass of the Celeste
rank is from tenor C to c2.
In pipe organs, all of the above tone qualities (Diapasons, Flutes and Strings)
are derived from a pipe sotmd caused by a vibrating column of air set in mo-
tion by the action of air impinging on a knife-like edge on the upper part of
the pipe mouth. These pipes and their resultant sounds are classed collec-
tively under the name Flue Stops.
THE REED F AlVllL Y
Pipe organ Reed Stops make use of the vibrations of a brass reed tongue .
against a fixed shallot, the resulting impulses being qualified and given
tonal shape by a resonator placed above the reed assembly. Reeds are
of two basic types, solo and chorus reeds. - The Solo Reeds are of an imi-
tative orchestral character, best used when standing alone in a melodic
line. The Clarinet and Oboe belong to this category. The Chorus Reeds,
such as the Trumpet on the Trilogy and the additional Clarion and Trom-
bone on the 32- B may be used in a solo capacity, but are voiced for the
purpose of adding "fire" to the full"Diapason and Flute Chorus, due to the
extreme harmonic development of these stops. The 16' Trombone in the
Pedal adds" snarl" and percussiveness to the Pedal Ensemble.
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