Russell Wattam
Pickering Traction Engine Rally in July 1999 saw one of the world’s most famous Gavioli organs make its debut following major restoration work. For de Grote Gavioli this had been the third major rebuild of its life; the first being carried out in about 1930 by Carl Frei working at the time in Breda and the second in the workshop of Gijs Perlee in the Westerstraat, Amsterdam in 1958. Visitors to the 1996 Pickering rally, particularly those from the Netherlands, were surprised to see its first rally appearance in many years. This 89 key No.4 instrument was purchased by Nigel and Beverley Myers of Rufforth near York only one week before the event from the "Bygone Village", Fleggburgh, Norfolk. Here its condition had been allowed to deteriorate rather, some of its music books had been sold off and for a while its future looked uncertain. Prior to this, the organ was seldom seen outdoors, having been for many years the jewel of Arthur Mason’s private collection in Burnham Market.
Some hurried repairs ensured a reasonable performance for the rally, but it became obvious that major work was needed if the organ’s reputation was to be maintained. Following the Harewood House Rally that year, de Grote Gavioli was brought into our workshops, awaiting a complete restoration.
One of the most important considerations for the new owners and the restorers before starting work was that the character of the organ should not be changed. Whilst it no longer had the same disposition as the day it left the factory, tonal alterations made at the hands of Frei and possibly Perlee were done with musical integrity; changing these would mean losing the individuality by which de Grote Gavioli had become so well known.
Several articles have already been written about the history of this organ (see HP 37,no.3 and 44, no.4) and consequently this article will be concerned mainly with the last restoration and our findings.
After much careful study, involving playing the organ for many hours, making tests with the scalebook and taking photographs, work was started in earnest in January 1997. With the removal of the front it was possible to see many details normally hidden from view.
As this was no ordinary Gavioli, and in order to preserve the character of the organ, it was necessary to have a thorough understanding of the function of components and pipes within the overall scheme before removal. At first sight it was still not clear exactly how the instrument might have looked or sounded in its former years; but as dismantling progressed the organ slowly gave up some of, if not all, its secrets. KDV archivist Rein Schenk kindly provided us with several photographs taken at the time of Reinhard Dirks’ ownership showing it both before and after the Frei rebuild. In its original format, the organ had a "closed" front with only a small opening in the centre; after the1930 rebuild most of the upper centre carved work disappeared, no doubt in an attempt to increase the volume by opening up the main case.
It was possible to see original Gavioli pipework amongst the additions of mainly old German pipes, many of which were already in their second life when added to the organ. Some of the more obvious additions were the extra saxophone pipes in the ends of the organ, a four rank mixture on the melody forte and strengthening of the bass and accompaniment sections.
The front, which appears to be a variant of model No. 660 in the Gavioli & Cie. catalogue of 1906, was in relatively good condition. Following its removal from the organ case, it was possible to strip back the layers of paint. We found at least three different colour schemes: the Perlee pink, silver and black which had become worn and faded after forty years; the decoration from the time of Reinhard Dirks, and finally; one which appeared to be the original.
As each layer was removed a few surprises were revealed; for instance the name of Reinhard Dirks, which can be seen in the old photograph (HP 1996 p.207) was uncovered above the pipework opening. A large seascape also emerged from the panel in the lower centre part of the front, although it was difficult to tell whether this was the original or not. Perhaps the most interesting discovery was the lettering "Waldkirch" and "Paris" on panels over the drum openings (see HP 44, no4 p.208). This added weight to the theory that de Grote Gavioli was originally built in Waldkirch, one that would be backed up by later finds.
With all the paint removed it became evident that the façade had been originally very heavily gilded; large amounts of red bole were uncovered on the carved work. Bole, a fine natural clay, is used to create a smooth surface for poliment or water gilding (this being the brightest and most expensive type of gilding). Each stage was carefully photographed; enabling surviving original features to be reproduced as the front was repainted. Fortunately the carved work itself was generally in good condition and required little repair work, the backing panels needed consolidation where they had split or suffered woodworm damage.
The figures too were in reasonably good condition with only one finger missing between seven people! While in Holland the three central figures were swapped with those on the street organ "Jupiter" now at Haarlem.
With the façade and figures stripped and prepared for painting, it was possible to commence redecoration in parallel with the restoration of the organ itself. Obviously, a colour scheme had to be decided upon before re-painting could begin; in this task we were very lucky to be assisted and advised by Wilfried Siegel, a recently retired state recognised master gilder and restorer from Waldkirch. Herr Siegel served his apprenticeship with the firm of Josef Lorenz in Bismarkstrasse which had decorated many organ fronts for the old Waldkirch makers. Later, as a self employed craftsman, he painted fronts for Carl Frei and was also involved in the casework restoration of the Weber "Automatische Capelle" orchestrion now displayed in the Waldkircher Heimatmuseum. His maternal grandfather, Linus Zähringer, worked for many years for the firm of Weber, being responsible for the animated glass pictures found on the front of many of their instruments.
Over the course of several visits, the genial Herr Siegel steered us through his master plan; leaving strict and detailed instructions as to how we were to proceed. He shared not only his vast knowledge of decoration but also many Waldkirch anecdotes into the bargain!
The final scheme, which is based on the findings we made and Herr Siegel’s knowledge of techniques employed at the turn of the last century, uses an ivory background with pink and red marbled panels. The carved work is finished with gold and silver, the latter being overlaid with coloured glaze. For this particular front two types of gilding were used: the greater part of the gold leaf is laid over an oil based size but the highlights are created using poliment" or "water" gilding. The process of poliment gilding has many different stages but has the advantage of giving work an appearance of burnished gold. Naturally, it becomes very costly to execute and for this reason is only used sparingly.
Interestingly, Herr Siegel was of an opinion that when de Grote Gavioli was new, this kind of work was probably not carried out in the vicinity of Waldkirch. Water gilding must be completed before the surrounding areas are painted, whilst oil gilding can be applied over the top of paintwork. Is it possible then, that the front was supplied as separate carvings, some of which were already gilded, from Paris? When the lower centre (buik) panel was stripped of paint, the words "Durchgang verboten!" (No thoroughfare!) were found pencilled upside down and partially obscured by fixed carvings. This would indicate that a, the front probably was assembled in Germany and b, the panel had been temporarily used as a barrier there!
Whilst clearly a Gavioli in style, construction and pipework, the organ bears witness to a number of alterations made over the years. The basic 89 key layout is still retained, i.e. bass and accompaniment on "shelves" in the back supported by a riser; trombones standing immediately in front; saxophones, divided in two halves, one at each side, standing in front of the trombones. The melody registers occupy a central section of the chest and back riser, and the piccolos stand in front of the saxophone pipes at each side. The most obvious departure from original is the addition of a mixture to the organ’s melody section playing on the forte register. Situated on the back riser, this is made up of pipework from a variety of sources and appears to be the work of Carl Frei, as does also the placing of the violin chest on metal brackets high up in the centre front. The violins had once stood where the forte chest is now; when violin chest and back riser were placed together the old screw holes lined up with each other perfectly.
So where could the original melody forte chest have been? In the case of this organ, it probably didn’t have one; there are no holes in the windchest to suggest one was ever present. When new, the organ must have been quieter than normal due to the very small façade opening, bearing this in mind, was there any need to have a melody forte register? Gavioli organs exist in old photographs seemingly have only violins and clarinets on the melody section (see HP 46 No.3, 1999). The melody forte chest was the only major replacement we made during the restoration; the old one being a small disc valve chest of indeterminate origin, which tended to starve the pipework of wind, possibly in an attempt to quieten the organ. Whether by accident or design, misalignment of the holes in its soundboard and chest caused further starvation; we felt it unlikely that Frei added a four rank mixture not intending it to be heard! The clarinet seems to have always occupied the same place, i.e. at the very front of the case proper.
Another alteration bearing the hallmark of Frei lies in the registration system. Normally in a Gavioli of this type, the registered pipework sits on off-note chests; the pallets of which are constantly active, taking their signals from the main windchest. A register only comes into play when its off-note chest become charged with air from the large ventil box positioned centrally on the main chest; this in turn is controlled by the four register keys.
In the case of de Grote Gavioli, the off-note chest for clarinet and the lowest piccolos has been replaced by a membrane riser, and that for trumpet (added to saxophone by forte) has been converted (and not discarded!) to the same system.
The membrane risers are fed through large square holes cut into the chest top to admit the maximum amount of wind to the pipes; adjacent to these can still be seen the old circular holes that had driven the puffs of the former off- note chests.
The large ventil box has disappeared, being replaced by a conventional register box, and the remaining original chest, that of the violin, is supplied by a remote ventil underneath the main chest. Naturally, those pipes not requiring registration are driven directly from the main windchest. For many years the clarinet and violin registers were permanently switched on; this and the ineffectual melody forte gave the impression of a large 87 key rather than an 89 key organ. This is evident even in old recordings made in Holland.
As well as Frei additions, the main case contains its original Gavioli pipework which consists of an interesting combination of what appears to be German and French construction. The strings for bass, accompaniment and saxophone all have tuning slides and appear French; the bass cellos have their freins stamped "Systeme A Gavioli, Brevete". All the violins, and the principal and harmonic flute for the clarinet mixture are tuned dead length. The stopped pipes and reedwork also appear to be of German pattern. Unfortunately, the reedwork for the clarinet register has long since been removed, and due to re-positioning the violins, would be impossible to replace.
A further addition from Carl Frei, which has a most significant effect on the tonality of the instrument, is the almost doubling up of the saxophones. An extra box reed and two flue helpers of 4’ and 8’ pitch in constant play with the Gavioli saxophone produces a stronger than normal, but not overpowering quality. Great care appears to have been taken to reduce the heaviness sometimes associated with Gavioli saxophones at the bass end of these additions. The lowest three notes in the Frei section have no reeds; also the 8’ flues of the original pipework have been replaced with 4’ pitch for these notes. The original position for these additions was in front of the main case above of the glockenspiel (see HP 37, no3, p.127). No doubt Frei’s work had to be done quickly and to a strict price consideration! Thankfully, Perlee was able to move them into the drum cases, altering the façade slightly to make an opening.
An uncommon feature of the walnut veneered main organ case is that being held together with machine screws, accessible from the inside, it is totally demountable. With the removal of these, the horizontal rails at the back and front can be detached from the ends allowing the whole case to be packed into a much smaller space.
The case floor is screwed rather than glued to the upper part, which also makes removal easy. It would be possible to pack the whole of the upper main case and panels, when dismantled, into the chair (cirkel). There could even be room for the windchest and risers as well. This would surely be an ideal space-saving way to send a kit of parts by rail if it were to travel from makers in Paris for assembly in Waldkirch.
The drum cases, being made of pine, could have just as easily been made in either location, although when the front sides of these were stripped down to the bare wood, the timber was a good match with that of the other (probably German) front panels.
The keyframe, which I believe to be the original one and still bears the Gavioli transfer on the bridge, is quite unusual in its departure from the normal Gavioli three touch box design. Having always stood in the now usual position on the end of the main case opposite the crank, it has at some time been turned through ninety degrees. Originally it was placed so that the music ran through the keyframe, then through the whole length of the main case via a shelf or runner and out of the other end above the crankshaft and into a receiving box or on to the floor. The old screw holes and blocked up exit are still clearly visible, as is also the hole bored to take the keyframe wind from the windchest to the frame itself and the slot through which the drive belt passed .
The operating principle is just the same as the normal Gavioli patent type with pivoting levers on the outside of the touch box connecting to small pallets on the inside. The main difference lies in that instead of having three separate touch boxes, this frame has just one large one in which the pallets are arranged in two rows. Perhaps this was a later development from Gavioli; certainly it must have been cheaper to make and probably made for a more stable construction, being less liable to localised movement of the timber. It is interesting that the builders felt that the reduction in pallet width, made necessary by reducing the number of rows from three to two, was still able to supply sufficient wind to drive the main puff board. Their optimism, however, appears to have been short lived; all the borings for the puffs have been rather crudely enlarged at some time. This is hardly surprising given that each of the six lowest basses receives its wind through two adjacent channels of the windchest, requiring two internally connected puffs per note. The length from the keyframe to F bass is 2,60 m., which must have severely tested even the best of keyframes working without the assistance of a relay. The restored system with its old modification works well and it was felt unnecessary to introduce a relay into it. The organ shows no signs of ever having been keyless in operation. It seems unlikely that keyed frames were made in Waldkirch; the tooling required would not have been a viable proposition given that it already existed in Paris where the secrets of manufacture would doubtless have been well guarded. Bearing all the constructional hallmarks, it is quite conceivable then that the keyframe also originated in Paris.
It has been said that de Grote Gavioli was the first organ that Perlee changed from bellows to blower operation and given the probable poor state of the feeders, they replaced them with a rather small reservoir to control and regulate the wind.
Leon van Leeuwen told us that when his grandfather received the organ it had two sets of feeders in it: one in the normal position and another on top of the case added by Frei to augment those inside. They were driven from the crankshaft, which by this time had been moved outside the case; this move also meant that the original feeders had to be repositioned so that the ends protruded through the case far enough to enable connection to the crank. For this purpose a large hole was cut out of the case, weakening it greatly. Mrs van Leeuwen remembers that on arrival in the Westerstraat, this end of the organ had collapsed causing the upper part to sink into the chair. Certainly the repairs done at the time bear this out and have lasted well; the case is still in excellent condition over forty years later.
The wind supply also received some modification; a new blower has been installed for two reasons: firstly the 220 Volt fan which came with the organ was unable to satisfactorily meet the demands placed on it, both in terms of volume and pressure, secondly the owners wished to use their Burrell showman’s engine, which supplies electric current at 110 Volts D.C., to drive the organ at outdoor events, this also necessitated a transformer rectifier for playing from mains electric. A problem encountered for many years was that the blower was only able to supply about 190 mm water gauge; evidence again that attempts have been made to reduce the organ’s volume. Following the increase in wind pressure to 235 mm, at which the pipework both spoke and tuned well and in keeping with other Gavioli organs, the small reservoir, even with a new blower and wind regulation was unable to meet the heavy demands placed upon it. It is hoped to fit a new reservoir of more conventional proportions in the near future.
With the exception of the components mentioned above, it was possible, in our workshop in Rufforth, to repair and re-leather all the material presented to us. The organ was generally worn out rather than suffering from any ill treatment or damage from the elements but was overdue for serious attention. For the fluework, we were assisted by Judith Howard of London, whose considerable knowledge and expertise in re-voicing damaged and worn out pipework has contributed greatly to the end result. The reedwork too called for similar remedial treatment; many pipes spoke poorly or slowly and were difficult to tune, this being done in-house. In outward appearance the pipework gives few indications of the great amount of time that was necessary to return it to correct and balanced speech, refinishing only being done where absolutely necessary. The one tonal change we did make, but one that is totally reversible, was to make the glockenspiel play only when the forte register is set. Clearly it was intended to play constantly, however we felt that it would have a better musical effect if it could be turned on and off.
Since he bought the organ, Nigel Myers has been able to track down and buy back some of the music that had been sold off while the organ was at Fleggburgh.
After all these additions, improvements and alterations what was achieved and has the resulting deviation from Gavioli’s intentions been worthwhile? To even consider remodelling an original Gavioli organ in the way Frei did would be justifiably classed as an act of vandalism in our more conservation conscious times. However, we must not loose sight of the fact that Frei worked in times very different to our own; organs did not posses the antique or intrinsic value they enjoy (or should do) today. Owners, whether showmen or street organ renters, needed to keep up with musical fashions and be able to hold their own against increasingly noisy competition if they were to earn a living. If this meant altering organs, as in many cases, beyond all recognition, then it had to be done. Luckily for the Netherlands, Carl Frei held great influence and whilst the transformations carried out by him certainly owe more to musical artistry than material craftsmanship, that result is nevertheless to be admired. What would have become of the Pierement in Holland if it were not for his influence? Interesting though they are to enthusiasts, it is hard to imagine organs with vox humana, clarinets and piccolos keeping favour with the public at large. It would be a mistake also to assume that all Gavioli organs were perfect when new; old showman’s stories telling of organs that wouldn’t stay in tune or were forever requiring the services of the organ builder are still surprisingly common. Undeniably, de Grote Gavioli retains its Gavioli character as a tonal foundation, one that Frei has successfully built on; without doubt his arrangements and compositions make the organ sound its best. The brilliance given to his music by the modified disposition reveals complete harmony between Frei the organ builder and Frei the music marker.
The bright violins carry the melody most of the time, contrasted occasionally with the almost ocarina like clarinet register for softer passages. The saxophone has a horn-like quality in the treble and this is often used to elevate a soaring counter-melody over the rest of the organ, it is equally useful, however, in carrying the tune or accentuating and holding accompaniment chords in forte passages. Because the forte register strengthens every section of the organ, the contrast between piano and forte can be quite startling; the melody and accompaniment mixtures serve to bind the organ together rather than drowning out their parent pipes. These qualities are amply demonstrated in the waltzes "Shimmy Palace", "Dolores" and "Carmen Sylva"; the "Hommerson" and "Waffenehre" marches", the "Rekordflug" galop as well as the song and operetta selections.
The organ gives us a few clues regarding working relations between Gavioli Paris and their Waldkirch branch. Of course it is impossible to be certain about what may or may not have occurred; the evidence presented here may, as part of a broader study, help to establish an idea of how the" mother" firm regulated its "daughter" in another country and maybe in a sceptical or even hostile environment. Although many principles of construction would have appeared the same, the Gavioli approach to organ building and voicing must have been a little unconventional to craftsmen who were even then steeped in Waldkirch tradition. Whether or not this was the case, "de Grote Gavioli" still stands as a tribute to its original builders and the inventive and musical talents of Carl Frei.
Specification
Bass – 8 notes: F, G, A, A#, B, C, D, E.
16’ Stopped (under case)
8’ Stopped
8’ Cello
5 1/3’ Stopped*
4’ Stopped*
8’ Saxophone (in forte)
Trombone - 8 notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, A#, B.
Accompaniment – 10 notes: G, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, E, F, F#.
8’ Cello – 2 ranks
8’ Stopped (originally under case, now inside)
8’ Stopped*
4’ Trumpet* (in forte)
Mixture – 4’ + 2 2/3’ *(in forte)
Melody:
Clarinet: 17 notes, G – b.
8’ Harmonic Flute
8’ Principal
8’ Stopped
Violin: 22 notes, G – e.
5 ranks, 8’ (two scales)
Forte: 22 notes, G – e.
16’ Cello*
Mixture – 8’+ 4’ + 2 2/3’*
Piccolo: 17 notes, c – d,e,f1.
4’ Harmonic Flute (2 ranks)
4’ Panflute
Glockenspiel (in forte)
Saxophone: 20 notes, A – d, e, f.
8’ Box Reed
8’ Trumpet (in forte)
8’ Open helper (A, As, B have been changed to 4’)
8’ Open helper*
8’ Box Reed* (17 notes only, from C)
4’ Open* (17 notes only, from C)
*indicates pipework added by Frei.
Registers: Violin, Clarinet, Forte, Piano
Percussion: Bass drum with cymbal (a "Chinese" cymbal is now fitted), and snare drum.
In concluding, I would like to acknowledge the help of the following: Nigel and Beverley Myers, without whose enthusiasm and funding, this project could not have been initiated; Judith Howard and Wilfried Siegel for background information concerning their particular specialities; KDV archivist Rein Schenk, Mr. Leon van Leeuwen and his mother Mrs. van Leeuwen-Perlee, and Andrew Pilmer.
Russell Wattam.
February, 2000.