Re: Ken Smith's Gavioli Fair Organ
By Bob Conant
In a message dated 96-06-30 14:08:05 EDT, Terry Smythe writes:
>
> To my ear, the most impressive large organ was Ken Smith's 86(?) key
> Gavioli, attracting a consistently appreciative audience. His musical
> arrangements were outstanding, characterized by no cut-outs. His most
> impressive selections were classical, while most humorous was winter
> music in opposition to yet another day of flawless weather.
Ken Smith's organ is a self built replica of an 89 key Black Forest Gavioli fair organ. It is constructed to the highest levels of standards and is an extremely accurate replica of one of these organs. Ken has done ALL of the work himself including not only the chest and pipework, but also the carving of the facade and the moving figures on it. For information, a "Black Forest" Gavioli was one that was made in Waldkirch, Germany, rather than in France as the bulk of them were. Waldkirch was a major center of the organ industry in Germany and several non-German European organ manufacturers located branch factories there, notably Gavioli and Limonaire. Both of these factories were managed by Richard Bruder, one of the famous Bruder family members. However, he was considered something of an outcast because of his association with the non-German companies. Organs built by the German branches were similar to their French counterparts but the facades and pipe voicing had definite German influence displayed.
The organ owned by Len Railsbach is one of the latest styles being produced by Don Stinson. It has pipework similar to a Wurlitzer 165 and therefore is a bit smaller musically than Ken Smith's Gavioli. The Stinson, however, can be quickly converted to play a special "European" roll that is produced by Don. When played in this mode, it sounds much more like a German or Belgian fair organ than an American Wurlitzer. Stinson has added some registers that emulate the European sound. The musical arrangements are adapted from traditional European arrangements and feature tunes that are more frequently found on Bruder and Ruth organs than those found on American instruments. When in the Wurlitzer mode, it plays the Wurlitzer 165 rolls, many of which are available today.
Hope this helps.
Bob Conant
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(Message sent Mon 1 Jul 1996, 03:06:00 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.) |
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