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.

After my first organetto had been made I was left without any work and a good Spanish friend of mine decided to support me with an order for a new instrument. He left me with all the crucial decisions for the organ and apart from the carving, which is done after a 12th century chest in a Berlin museum, I opted for the said scaling-system. At that moment I had not been aware of the fact, that my appreciated Dutch colleague Winold van der Putten had already aplied it even for bigger positive organs.

The result of this project to me still is fascinating and up to now I have done two more organetti of this kind. One for Martin Erhardt of Halle, who influenced the design of his instrument to a remarkable extend and another one for Dietrich Oberdörfer of Meran, whose wide views on sound, music and life moved me a lot.

Martin introduces the small Spanish and his big Taubenei-instrument in a couple of videos.
Special attention to the medieval style carving is given here.