Positive organ
Encyclopedia
A positive organ (from the Latin verb ponere, "to place") is a small, usually one-manual, pipe organ
that is built to be more or less mobile. It was common in sacred and secular music between the 10th and the 18th centuries, in chapels and small churches, as a chamber organ and for the basso continuo in ensemble works. The smallest common kind of positive, hardly higher than the keyboard, is called chest or box organ and is especially popular nowadays for basso continuo work; positives for more independent use tend to be higher.
From the Middle Ages
through Renaissance
and Baroque
the instrument came in many different forms, including processional and tabletop organs that have profited relatively less from the renewed popularity the type in general has enjoyed from the Orgelbewegung
onwards.
s or a custom-made hand truck
are other aids to mobility, which have become vastly more common in modern times.
, 4′ flute and 2′ principal (diapason) is common. Somewhat larger positives may also have a 2-2/3′ and/or other mutation stop and/or a small mixture
, and some have an 8′ reed stop
(such as a regal
). Still larger positives may have a 4′ principal or a second 8′ stop, the latter often treble-only. More complex examples feature a divided keyboard, which allows each stop to be activated separately in the treble and bass portions of the keyboard. This makes it possible to play a melody and an accompaniment simultaneously on different registrations. Most positives have just one manual keyboard and no pedals, but there are examples with a set of pedal pulldowns or even a pedal stop or two, as well as rarer ones with two manuals.
in order to supply wind to the instrument, but most modern positives include electric blowers for this purpose.
in that it is larger and is not played while strapped at a right angle to the performer's body. It also has a larger keyboard (typically 49 notes or more in modern examples, often 45 or so notes with short octave
in older), while a portative may have as few as 12 or 13 notes. The positive is also not to be confused with the regal
, a small keyboard instrument that contains short-length reed pipes.
However, since the Orgelbeweung revival of small organs, small positives to be played with both hands have also come to be called 'portatives' in many cases, especially when their pipes are similarly arranged to those of the genuine portative.
erected to the memory of Theodosius I
on his death in AD 395. Among the illuminated manuscripts of the British Museum
there are many miniatures
representing interesting varieties of the portable organ of the Middle Ages, including Add. MS. 29902 (fol. 6), Add. MS. 27695b (fol. 13), and Cotton MS. Tiberius A VII. fol. 104d., all of the 14th century, and Add. MS. 28962 and Add. MS. 17280, both of the 15th century.
In the Renaissance
and Baroque
periods, positive organs were used at many kinds of civil and religious functions. They were used in the homes and chapels of the rich, at banquets and court events, in choirs and music schools, and in the small orchestras of Jacopo Peri
and Claudio Monteverdi
at the dawn of the musical drama or opera.
it became known as a Chair organ, later to be corrupted into the Choir division found on Romantic and many modern organs. Since the Orgelbewegung, also the German
term Ruckpositiv (Rückpositiv) can be encountered in English.
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
that is built to be more or less mobile. It was common in sacred and secular music between the 10th and the 18th centuries, in chapels and small churches, as a chamber organ and for the basso continuo in ensemble works. The smallest common kind of positive, hardly higher than the keyboard, is called chest or box organ and is especially popular nowadays for basso continuo work; positives for more independent use tend to be higher.
From the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
through Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
the instrument came in many different forms, including processional and tabletop organs that have profited relatively less from the renewed popularity the type in general has enjoyed from the Orgelbewegung
Organ reform movement
The Organ Reform Movement or Orgelbewegung was an early 20th century trend in pipe organ building, originating in Germany and already influential in the United States in the 1940s, waning only in the 1980s...
onwards.
Casing
Many positives, both of the box and 'cupboard' types, can be divided into upper and lower parts to be more easily moved. The lower part then usually contains the bellows, blower and/or treadle, and perhaps a few of the largest pipes. Wheels, casterCaster
A caster is an undriven, single, double, or compound wheel that is designed to be mounted to the bottom of a larger object so as to enable that object to be easily moved...
s or a custom-made hand truck
Hand truck
A hand truck, also known as a Hannibal lectern, two wheeler, stack truck, dolly, trolley, trolley truck, sack barrow, sack truck, or bag barrow, is an L-shaped box-moving handcart with handles at one end, wheels at the base, with a small ledge to set objects on, flat against the floor when the...
are other aids to mobility, which have become vastly more common in modern times.
Stops
Positive organs typically exhibit few stops due to their small size and portable nature; a specification of 8′ stoppedGedackt
Gedackt is the name of a family of stops in pipe organ building. They are one of the most common types of organ flue pipe. The name is a German word, meaning "capped" or "covered".- History :...
, 4′ flute and 2′ principal (diapason) is common. Somewhat larger positives may also have a 2-2/3′ and/or other mutation stop and/or a small mixture
Mixture (music)
A mixture is an organ stop, usually of principal tone quality, that contains multiple ranks of pipes. It is designed to be drawn with a combination of stops that forms a complete chorus . The mixture sounds the upper harmonics of each note of the keyboard...
, and some have an 8′ reed stop
Reed pipe
A reed pipe is an organ pipe that is sounded by a vibrating brass strip known as a reed. Air under pressure is directed towards the reed, which vibrates at a specific pitch. This is in contrast to flue pipes, which contain no moving parts and produce sound solely through the vibration of air...
(such as a regal
Regal
-Musical Instrument:*Regal , a keyboard instrument manually pumped by bellows and having a raucous, nasal sound-Surname:*Steve Regal , retired American professional wrestler. Not to be confused with "Steven Regal", a former ring name of:*William Regal , real name Darren Matthews, a British...
). Still larger positives may have a 4′ principal or a second 8′ stop, the latter often treble-only. More complex examples feature a divided keyboard, which allows each stop to be activated separately in the treble and bass portions of the keyboard. This makes it possible to play a melody and an accompaniment simultaneously on different registrations. Most positives have just one manual keyboard and no pedals, but there are examples with a set of pedal pulldowns or even a pedal stop or two, as well as rarer ones with two manuals.
Wind supply
Before electricity, positives required either the player or a second person to operate the bellowsBellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
in order to supply wind to the instrument, but most modern positives include electric blowers for this purpose.
Compass and various
The positive organ differs from the portative organPortative organ
A portative organ is a small pipe organ that consists of one rank of flue pipes, sometimes arranged in two rows, to be played while strapped to the performer at a right angle...
in that it is larger and is not played while strapped at a right angle to the performer's body. It also has a larger keyboard (typically 49 notes or more in modern examples, often 45 or so notes with short octave
Short octave
The short octave was a method of assigning notes to keys in early keyboard instruments , for the purpose of giving the instrument an extended range in the bass...
in older), while a portative may have as few as 12 or 13 notes. The positive is also not to be confused with the regal
Regal (musical instrument)
The regal was a small portable organ, furnished with beating reeds and having two bellows. The instrument enjoyed its greatest popularity during the Renaissance. The name was also sometimes given to the reed stops of a pipe organ, and more especially the vox humana stop.The sound of the regal was...
, a small keyboard instrument that contains short-length reed pipes.
However, since the Orgelbeweung revival of small organs, small positives to be played with both hands have also come to be called 'portatives' in many cases, especially when their pipes are similarly arranged to those of the genuine portative.
History
A well-known instance of an early positive or portable organ of the 4th century occurs on the obeliskObelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
erected to the memory of Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
on his death in AD 395. Among the illuminated manuscripts of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
there are many miniatures
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
representing interesting varieties of the portable organ of the Middle Ages, including Add. MS. 29902 (fol. 6), Add. MS. 27695b (fol. 13), and Cotton MS. Tiberius A VII. fol. 104d., all of the 14th century, and Add. MS. 28962 and Add. MS. 17280, both of the 15th century.
In the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
periods, positive organs were used at many kinds of civil and religious functions. They were used in the homes and chapels of the rich, at banquets and court events, in choirs and music schools, and in the small orchestras of Jacopo Peri
Jacopo Peri
Jacopo Peri was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera...
and Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
at the dawn of the musical drama or opera.
Other uses of the term
The Positive is also a traditional department of a large organ, often placed behind the organist's back and more or less the size of a separate Positive organ. In EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
it became known as a Chair organ, later to be corrupted into the Choir division found on Romantic and many modern organs. Since the Orgelbewegung, also the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
term Ruckpositiv (Rückpositiv) can be encountered in English.
External links
- Picture of a new 2009 positive organ available for sale or rent by New England Organbuilders of Connecticut
- Picture of a seventeenth century positive organ at the Vienna Museum of Art History