In Wally Venable's response to "The Shock Absorber" (MMDigest 171102),
he mentions the street organ, "De Witte". The reservoir and feeders
of that organ (built to Carl Frei's 90-key scale, not 99-key!) were
originally made by Mortier for their dance organ "La Cascade", which
was undergoing re-building by the late Brian Oram. I considered this
unit more than adequate for a 90-key street organ. It fitted into my
design just right.
Wally mentioned the trombones: in traditional street organ music
trombones are very sparingly used, mostly for final "blast" at the
end of a book. In that role, the Mortier wind supply was adequate.
More modern music, especially the concert-style pieces played on De
Witte these days, would test the wind supply on any "Dutch" street
organ.
The fitting of two extra ranks of 16-foot bass pipes plus more
percussion (in addition to the previously added glockenspiel),
certainly needed the use of a blower. Having said all that, the
"shock absorber" reservoir is still very much needed to do just that,
and the end result is nothing short of stunning. Listening to that
organ at Olcott Beach back in the summer was a real treat for me.
John Page, UK
|