Harmonium organ - Alexandre Père et Fils, à mains doublées

[ofacteur]

Cest un bel instrument! Ou las-tu trouvé?

[Belgologies]

réponse en MP.

[ofacteur]

Normally the celeste, harpe aeoliene and musette stops sound with another stop, and are slightly detuned. This creates the 'celeste' effect (like in a pipe organ)and gives a nice ondulating sound!

[Belgologies]

Indeed; Celeste has a very sweet sound, very 'human'! But Musette is more like a straight accordion sound.

[Lifecomesfromwithin]

Nevermind about the indentations, I went to your blog just now, and you already talked about them there!

[Belgologies]

OK, If you find more ideas or information about this 'holders', let me share it (what an atroceous English) ...

[Lifecomesfromwithin]

What are those indentations to the right and left of the keyboard, in the cheeks? Looks like something is meant to screw down to them - candle holders? Are the two upper eight foot stops always meant to be very slightly out of tune with eachother, to give a richer, swirling tone? They do always seem to be tuned that way.

[Belgologies]

Candle holders ? Perhaps yes, I never find others holes like that on other Alexandre instruments. Very high registers are a little 'out of tune'; reeds mostly never 'move', I think it's like baroque organs, when the trumpet tune is a little higher than others. But I'm not an expert !

[ofacteur]

The Alexandre mains doublées (octave coupler) are pretty unusual. They are part of a series of instruments that starts to sound and look American. In my Alexandre (c1880)catalog, there is a picture of one that has a more American looking fancy top on it...perhaps those holes are for dowels to register the top piece! or they are for swiveling brass candlestands!

[Belgologies]

I think it's too 'clean' to receive dowels ... Candelstands I'm pretty sure. If you find it someday in a bargain store :)