Organetti

The portative organ or organetto is as simple and clearly laid out as an organ possibly can be. Since it works with different pressures as no other organ-type does, it has interesting and exceptional features.

To make pipes sound with changing wind pressure is a challenge, an organ-builder normally does not have to cope with. If one allows for this very special set-up, it becomes an exciting adventure.

Only for close exchange with experienced organetto players and flutists did I understand, what an expressive and musically funcitioning portative organ means to me.

I would be delighted, if the organetto became a practicing instrument for artistic organ-playing. There is no better way to study possibilities and limits of pipe sound by playing such instrument.

I do not claim to make authentic organetti but apply design, methods and materials in such manner, that my instruments could have been constructed in medieval times

Pigeon-egg

The simplest scaling-system for organ pipes described in medieval sources uses the same diameter for all pipes of a row. Since this measurement is defined as the width of a pigeon egg, we talk about the so called pigeon-egg scale.

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Diatonic

Through mediation of Christophe Deslignes the friends of the Instrumentarium de la cathédrale de Chartres asked for the construction of a very small organetto after a simple 16th century sculpture within the cathedral. Since this image is very late for a portative organ, I suggested to carry it out with stopped lead-pipes. With my project …

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Slim scale

Musically as well as in terms of sound the organetto is very effective, when climbing down towards the alto-range. At the same time it is important that such instrument is not too big and heavy.

Therefore I designed an instrument with smaller scale, which is lighter and more compact. The sound becomes a bit rough and stringy.

Four instruments of this kind are used by good musicians from different cultural back-grounds. They are keen to use their organetti with different, also traditional instruments. The resulting overlap in sound is astounding.

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Portative organ with regal-voice

The first inquiry concerning an organetto was done by Martin Erhardt. Since until this moment I never seriously had thought about those instruments, from then on thorough consideration on the subject and many discussions with Martin started.

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