EDITORIALThe quest for authentic performances of Baroque music has led to mixed results, particularly in respect of the organ. There is a realisation that there is no such thing as the authentic Baroque organ, but rather a variety of instruments which fits that description, none of which resembles the extreme organs of the 1970s. One aspect of current performance practice which deserves consideration is the employment of small, portable organs, sometimes called box organs. Some illustrations from the Baroque period show performers, vocal and instrumental, gathered around an organ, with the organist directing the performance. The effects of this arrangement on the music were profound, and go beyond the idea that the organ simply provided the harmonies dictated by the figured-bass. The organ necessarily dictated the pitch and temperament of the performance; this effect was more severe than in the case of the harpsichord where temperament, and to some degree, pitch, could be altered readily; the organ was not amenable to such adjustments. We know that instruments were purchased which would be in tune with the organ (Snyder, K.J., Dieterich Buxtehude (1987, London), 85), but the players and singers would have adjusted to the organ's temperament. In addition to playing the continuo, the organist could supply missing parts in the ensemble, for which purpose the organ was eminently suitable, especially if it were in the centre of the performers. Perhaps the most subtle, but important, effect of the arrangement was the physical spread of sound from pipes planted on a spacious soundboard; even a soft stop could permeate the ensemble and the building, binding the sound. The effect is quite different from that obtained from a portable organ, where the sound emanates from a small box. Modern practice in the concert hall is the opposite of the combined, even cosy, ensemble depicted in those Baroque drawings. The orchestra is placed in front of the choir, the soloists perhaps between the two or even in front, with the portable organ, violoncello and violone continuo attached to the orchestra. If the room and the forces employed are small enough, then the organ may be able to perform all of its continuo functions; however, in the relatively dry acoustic of a modern concert hall, its effect can be merely that of an additional instrument playing chords. Its shortcomings in this context can be magnified when it used to accompany a solo voice - the singer may be distant from the continuo instruments. This is not to say that these small organs should never be employed; used creatively in the right circumstances they can do sterling work in the absence of a permanent, suitable instrument. Indeed, in performing early seventeenth-century music which can call for multiple continuo instruments, the portable organ can come into its own. The problem arises when these small instruments are employed on the basis that any organ sound is better than none at all, and that it is somehow authentic; this does a disservice to the portable organ and the music. |