Renaissance 450 Copyright © 1998 Allen Organ Company All Rights Reserved AOC P/N 033-0103 2/98
ALLEN ORGAN COMPANY For more than fifty years--practically the entire history of electronic organs--the Allen Organ Company has sought to build the finest organs that technology would allow. In 1939, Allen built and marketed the world’s first purely electronic oscillator organ. The tone generators for this first instrument used two hundred forty-four vacuum tubes, contained about five thousand components, and weighed nearly three hundred pounds.
Contents I. II. Description of Stops 1. Renaissance 450 Stop List Pedal Organ Pedal Organ Second Voices Swell Organ Swell Organ Second Voices Great Organ Great Organ Second Voices Choir Organ Choir Percussion Second Voices Solo Organ Floating String Division MIDI Drawknobs - All Divisions General Drawknobs Swell Antiphonal Controls Expression Shoes Crescendo Pedal Tutti I & II III.
DESCRIPTION OF STOPS PITCH FOOTAGE The number appearing on each stop along with its name indicates the “pitch” or “register” of the particular stop. It is characteristic of the organ that notes of different pitches may be sounded from a single playing key. When this sound corresponds to the actual pitch of the playing key, the note (or stop) is referred to as being of 8’ (eight foot) pitch; therefore, when an 8’ stop is selected and Middle C is depressed, the pitch heard will be Middle C.
Flute Voices Open: Harmonic Flute Koppleflöte flute mutation stops Flute Voices Stopped: Holzgedackt Bourdon Lieblichgedackt Rohr Bourdon String Voices Gamba Violone Viola Céleste Compound Voices Mixture Cornet Hybrid Voices Gemshorn Erzähler Spitzflöte Voices of lesser harmonic development than Principals. Open flutes are somewhat imitative; stopped flutes are less imitative. Present at all pitch levels and in all divisions. Mildly imitative voices and of brighter harmonic development than Principals.
RENAISSANCE 450 STOP LIST Following is a discussion of individual stops and how they are generally used. Please note that due to dynamic nature of Renaissance voices, variations in specifications may be encountered. PEDAL ORGAN: 32’ Contre Violone Rich string tone at the bottom of the Pedal Division. (With Reversible) 32’ Contre Bourdon Large, heavy bass flute tone. (With Reversible) 16’ Diapason The 16’ member of the Pedal Principal Chorus. Strongest Pedal Division flue stop.
PEDAL ORGAN continued: 4’ Clairon A bright 4’ chorus reed. Combines with the 16’ Bombarde and 8’ Trompete to form the full Pedal Reed Chorus. Particularly useful as a solo voice. 8’ Trompete Clear Pedal reed useful in adding definition to a full pedal combination, or as a solo Pedal trumpet. 8’ Great to Pedal Connects all Great stops so they may be played with the Pedal keys at the pitch indicated on the Great stops.
PEDAL ORGAN SECOND VOICES continued: 16’ Prinzipal Foundation voice with more high harmonics than the primary 16’ Diapason Pedal voice. 16’ Subbass Stopped Bass Flute with more chiff sound than the 16’ Bourdon 8’ Oktav Foundation stop of Diapason tone quality. More articulation tones than the primary Pedal 8’ Octave. 32’ Kontra Posaune Sounds one octave below the 16’ Posaune. 16’ Posaune A strong Pedal Division reed that lends fire to the pedal line when properly used in the Reed Chorus.
SWELL ORGAN continued: 4’ Travers Flute Imitative of, and louder than the orchestral flute. 2-2/3’ Nasard Flute mutation that sounds one octave and a fifth above the 8’ pitch. Always used with other stops (usually beginning with 8’) for coloration. 2’ Piccolo Imitative of the orchestral piccolo. Much quieter than the principal Fifteenth. Useful as soft solo or with building choruses and ensembles.
SWELL ORGAN continued: Swell 16’ Swell Sub-octave Coupler. Swell voices speak one octave lower than the pitch indicated on the stop, when played from the Swell Manual. Unison Off Turns off stops in the Swell Division at the pitch level at which they are drawn, while allowing them to speak at octave and sub-octave pitch levels when octave and suboctave couplers are drawn. Swell 4’ Swell Octave Coupler.
SWELL ORGAN SECOND VOICES continued: Mixture IV Four rank mixture, comprised of bright principal tones. Each note played produces four distinct pitches at octave and fifth relationships to the key being pressed. 8’ Hautbois A French version of the primary voice, 8’ Oboe. 8’ Vox Humaine A French version of the primary voice, 8’ Vox Humana. GREAT ORGAN: 16’ Double Diapason One octave lower in pitch, tonally similar and slightly quieter than the 8’ 1st Diapason.
GREAT ORGAN continued: Mixture IV Four rank mixture, a compound stop of principal tones. Four notes in octave and fifth relationships sounding together when a single key is depressed. As pitches progress upward, they “break” back to the next lower octave or fifth. Used to cap the Great Principal Chorus, adding brilliance and pitch definition throughout the entire compass. Cymbale III Three rank mixture, comprised of principal tones.
GREAT ORGAN continued: 8’ String on Great Enables Floating String Division stops to be played with the Great keys at the pitch indicated on the String stops. Gt / Pd to Antiphonal Causes the Gt / Pd Division’s voices to speak from Antiphonal speakers. With this drawknob engaged, these divisions speak from both the Antiphonal and Main speakers. When the Gt / Pd Main Off control is also engaged, the Antiphonal will sound alone.
GREAT ORGAN SECOND VOICES continued: 4’ Oktav Sesquialtera II Similar in timbre to 8’ Prinzipal, not as loud and sounds one octave higher. Two rank compound foundation mixture. CHOIR ORGAN: 16’ Erzähler Hybrid voice that sounds one octave lower than the 8’. 8’ Holzgedackt Large sounding stopped flute. 8’ Erzähler Hybrid stop that combines the tonal characteristics of the string and flute families, resulting in a small-scale Gemshorn. Useful accompaniment voice.
CHOIR ORGAN continued: 8’ Krummhorn Imitative of a very old instrument Krummhorn (crooked horn). Audsley describes it to mean cor horn, and morne mournful. This reed voice can be used alone as a solo stop or combined with light flues for a somewhat rounder reed solo effect. Unison Off Turns off voices in the Choir Division yet allowing the voices of Swell, Solo, and String divisions to be played on the Choir Manual when coupled to it.
CHOIR ORGAN continued: Choir Main OFF To be used in conjunction with the Choir to Antiphonal Drawknob. This drawknob disables the Choir Division’s Main speakers. If engaged while the Choir Antiphonal ON control is not engaged, The Choir Division will make no sound. For MIDI to Choir see this section page 15. CHOIR PERCUSSION SECOND VOICES: The voices of several stops in the Choir Division can be instantly replaced by Choir Percussion Second Voices.
SOLO ORGAN continued: 8’ French Horn Imitative of the orchestral version of the same name. 8’ Cor Anglais Imitative of the orchestral English Horn. Voiced such that it can be used in ensembles or as a solo voice. 8’ Flauto Mirabilis Large, loud, solo flute. Solo Tremulant Turns on tremulant on Solo Organ Division voices. FLOATING STRING DIVISION – (accessible from four divisions): The String Division can be played from any or all manuals except the Solo Manual.
FLOATING STRING DIVISION continued: Dulcets II OFF When this drawknob is drawn, the two ranks Dulcet and Dulcet Celéste, will be removed from the voices of each of the 4’, 8’ and 16’ Strings. Thus, Strings VI becomes Strings IV. Should the organist draw the Gambas II OFF along with Dulcets II OFF and draw any of the Strings VI it then will only be a two rank string voice made of the Viol d’ Orchestra and Viol Celéste. 16’ Vox Humana A unit voice one octave in pitch below the 8’ Vox Humana.
GENERAL DRAWKNOBS: All Swells to Swell When this drawknob is drawn, it enables the organist to express all voices from one expression shoe. The organist may increase or decrease the volume of the entire instrument by opening or closing the expression pedal labeled “SWELL”. This drawknob overrides the String expression controls.
EXPRESSION SHOES (PEDALS): There are five expression shoes on the Renaissance 450. The one on the far right is the Crescendo Pedal (see below). The pedal on the far left expresses both the Great and Pedal Divisions. The second expression shoe from the left, expresses the Choir Division while the center expression shoe expresses the Swell Division. The fourth expression shoe from the left, next to the Crescendo Shoe, expresses the Solo Division.
ARTISTIC REGISTRATION This section is intended to aid the organist that is looking for suggestions. By no means should registration be confined to only what is included here. Organ registrations fall into two broad categories: solo registrations and ensembles. SOLO REGISTRATIONS: A solo registration is one in which a melody is played on one keyboard, the accompaniment part played on another keyboard, and the pedal often provides a supportive bass line.
SUGGESTED SOLO REGISTRATIONS: CHIMES SOLO Swell: Great: Choir: Pedal: (8’) Flûte Céleste II; or 8’ Rohr Bourdon, 8’ Viola, and 8’ Viola Céleste Chimes 8’ Erzähler, and 8’ Erzähler Celeste 16’ Lieblichgedackt, 8’ Swell to Pedal Play solo on Great and accompaniment on Swell or Choir.
ENSEMBLE REGISTRATIONS: Ensemble registrations involve groups of stops that are played together, usually, but not always, with both hands on one keyboard. They are characterized by compatibility of tone, clarity, and occasionally power. Such registrations are used in hymn singing, choir accompaniments, and much of the contrapuntal organ literature. Volumes have been written on the subject of ensemble registration; here is a summary of the major points. Ensembles are created by combining stops.
SUGGESTED ENSEMBLE REGISTRATIONS: GREAT MANUAL DIVISION 1. 2. 3 4. 5. 6. 7. 8’ Harmonic Flute, 4’ Flute 8’ 2nd Diapason, 4’ Octave 8’ 1st & 2nd Diapason, 4’ Octave, 8’ 2nd Diapason, 4’ Octave, 2’ Fifteenth 8’ 1st & 2nd Diapason, 4’ Octave, 2’ Fifteenth, Mixture IV 8’ 1st & 2nd Diapason, 8’ Harmonic Flute, 4’ Octave, 4’ Flute, 2’ Fifteenth, Mixture IV, 8’ 1st & 2nd Diapason, 8’ Harmonic Flute, 4’ Octave, 4’ Flute, 2’ Fifteenth, Mixture IV, Cymbale III, 8’ Tromba SWELL MANUAL DIVISION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
ENSEMBLE REGISTRATIONS continued: The Pedal ensemble is created in much the same way as the manual ensembles, starting at 16’ pitch instead of 8’. Be careful that the volume of the pedals is not greater than that of the manuals. Although the manual to pedal couplers are useful in bringing clarity to the pedal line, especially on softer registrations, avoid the temptation to constantly rely on one or two 16’ stops along with a coupler.
TRANSPOSER Vast computer capabilities make it possible to perform the sometimes difficult task of transposing, while allowing the organist to play in the notated key. Operation of the Transposer is controlled by the Transposer knob, found inside the Console Controller™ drawer. Neutral (no transposition) position for the knob is marked “!.” To shift the music to a higher key, rotate the knob counter-clockwise. The key can be raised a maximum of five half-steps.
VIRTUAL ACOUSTICS SETTINGS The Digital Reverberation System provides the spatial ambiance of various sizes of reverberant rooms. Although most effective in poor (non-reverberant) acoustic environments, it enhances the sound even in optimal acoustic settings. There are 21 selectable reverb pallets. One of these is the DEFAULT setting that is not adjustable. The other 20 styles are selectable and adjustable.
CARE OF THE ORGAN BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM: The memory for the capture system on your Renaissance Organ is sustained by a Lithium battery. This allows capture settings and related items to be retained in memory when the organ is switched off or unplugged. Under normal circumstances, the Lithium battery should last for several years. A built-in warning system will alert you when the battery becomes weak and needs to be replaced. Always have the Console Controller™ drawer open before the organ is turned on.
INSTALLATION, and VOICING, OF THE ORGAN INSTALLATION Wherever your Renaissance organ may be situated, careful installation is a prerequisite to achieving successful results. Your Allen representative is well qualified to guide you in planning for this. Allen Organ factory assistance with planning the installation is available and may be sought by your local Allen representative. Once the organ is installed, be mindful of changes made to the room it is located in.
USA ONLY CAUTION Do not plug the instrument into any current source other than 110 to 120 volts, 50/60 Hertz alternating current (AC). A verified grounded outlet is essential to proper operation and protection of the instrument. Proper polarity should be checked with an AC circuit analyzer before connecting the organ. Do not change the cable plug or remove the ground pin or connect with a two-pole ground lift adapter.
INTERNATIONAL ONLY CAUTION Do not plug the instrument into any current source other than that stated by the selling dealer. Proper polarity should be checked with an AC circuit analyzer before connecting the organ. Do not change the cable plug or remove the ground pin (if applicable). If you are in doubt about your electrical connection, consult your local electrician or power company.
