JULIAN RHODES' DREAM ORGANS
STOPLISTS FOR IDEAL ORGANS



"Specification for a Colossal Organ
for a Music Hall of the Largest Capacity"
William H. Clarke 1877


William Horatio Clarke (1840-1913) was an organ-builder in Indianapolis. The following stoplist is taken from his book "An Outline of the Structure of the Pipe Organ, designed for the general information of organists, church committees, and musical students", published in Boston in 1877.


GREAT            
    32       Sub Bass                       tc; wood
    16       Double Open Diapason 
    16       Contra Gamba
    16       Double Mouthed Bourdon             
     8       Open Diapason
     8       Montre Diapason
     8       Bell Open Diapason
     8       Bearded Gamba
     8       Dulciana               
     8       Rohr Gedeckt
     8       Stopped Diapason               wood
     8       Clarabella                     wood
     8       Doppel Flöte                   wood
    5 1/3    Quint Flöte        
     4       Octave
     4       Principal
     4       Prestant
     4       Violina
     4       Traverse Flute                 wood
     4       Hohl Flöte    
    3 1/5    Tierce
    2 2/3    Octave Quint
    2 2/3    Twelfth
     2       Super Octave
     2       Fifteenth    
     V       Clear Mixture                  wood & metal
     V       Sesquialtera
     V       Cornet
     V       Acuta
     V       Cymbel        
    16       Bombarde  
     8       Trumpet
     8       Posaune
     4       Clarion
     2       Octave Clarion                
 
SWELL
    16       Double Open Diapason
    16       Bourdon                        wood
     8       Open Diapason
     8       Viola Diapason
     8       Gamba
     8       Salicional
     8       Aeoline
     8       Vox Celestis
     8       Harmonica                      wood
     8       Quintadena
     8       Gedeckt
    5 1/3    Quint                          wood
     4       Principal       
     4       Octave
     4       Violin
     4       Flute Octaviante
     4       Flute Harmonique
     4       Echo Flute                     wood
    2 2/3    Nasard
     2       Doublette
     2       Flageolet
     V       Harmonic Mixture
     V       Echo Cornet
     V       Harmonia Aetheria      
    16       Euphone                       free-reed
    16       Double Trumpet              
     8       Cornopean
     8       Cor Anglais     
     8       Oboe
     4       Clarion
             Tremulant     
 
CHOIR   
    16       Lieblich Gedeckt               wood
    16       Aeolina
     8       Open Diapason  
     8       Geigen Principal    
     8       Viol d'Amour     
     8       Dolce
     8       Melodia                        wood
     8       Flauto Amabile                 wood
     4       Octave
     4       Fugara
     4       Dolcette
     4       Flute d'Amour
     4       Flute à Cheminée
     4       Spitz Flute                    wood; pyramidal
    2 2/3    Gemshorn Quint
     2       Piccolo
     2       Octave Flute
     V       Sesquialtera    
    16       Physharmonica
     8       Trumpet
     8       Clarionet
     8       Vox Angelica                  free-reed
     8       Musette     
     8       Vox Humana
             Tremulant  
 
SOLO  
    16       Tibia Major                   wood
    16       Double Melodia                wood
     8       Horn Diapason
     8       Viola
     8       Keraulophon
     8       Dolcan                        wood
     8       Philomela                     wood
     4       Prestant
     4       Wald Flute                    wood
     4       Night Horn
     4       Concert Flute                 wood
     2       Harmonic Piccolo
    VI       Mixture    
    16       Bombardon
     8       Tuba Mirabilis
     4       Octave Trumpet   
 
PEDAL
    32       Sub Principal
    32       Double Open Diapason          wood
    32       Double Bourdon                wood
    16       Principal
    16       Open Diapason                 wood
    16       Bourdon Sub-Bass              wood
    16       Double Dulciana
    16       Gamba
    16       Violone                       wood    
   10 2/3    Quintolophon                  wood
     8       Principal
     8       Octave     
     8       Violoncello
     8       Stopped Diapason              wood
     8       Flote                         sic.; wood
     8       Dolcissimo
    6 2/5    Terza
    5 1/3    Octave Quint
     4       Super Octave
     4       Flauto                        wood
     4       Gambette
     2       Clarina
    III      Mixture
    III      Harmonics    
    32       Bombarde
    16       Tuba
    16       Trombone    
    16       Bassoon  
     8       Ophycleide                    sic.
     8       Tromba
     4       Clarion
 
Couplers:  4 to Pedal, 3 to Great, Swell to Choir.
'Separation ventils' for Great, Swell & Pedal.
'Pedal check'.
Register cancel.
Great: F, Mezzo, P.
Swell ditto.
Pedal ditto.
Pedal couplers: F & P.


Clarke stated that "an organ of this capacity has not as yet been constructed in any part of the world". Its 136 stops would have called for more than 10,000 pipes.

Tonally, it is an apotheosis of the American organ of its time. There is much German influence: the massive Great chorus with its 32ft. Sub-Bass, 25 ranks of mixtures and 2ft. reed; the free-reeds on Swell and Choir; the plethora of 4ft. flutes; the Pedal strings, mutations and upperwork; the Solo Tibia Major and the Swell Harmonia Aetheria. More characteristically American are the descriptive and polyglot stop-names; the disposition of the Solo organ; the tremendous variety of colour, particularly in the flutes; and, above all, the ambitious, all-inclusive nature of the scheme as a whole.




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