Schnitger meets Sabine: Designing for organs

Abstract

In the planning of music education facilities there are few areas that afford the possibility of collaboration between the acoustician and the instrument builder; the design of spaces for organ practice and performance is one of these. The organ builder has within the traditions of his or her craft considerable latitude in regard to tonal design, pipe scaling, and the disposition of various divisions. The acoustician, on the other hand, must serve an organist who is likely to relish a highly diffuse and reverberant sound, but who is often confined to practice rooms of limited volume and is seated close to a powerful instrument of considerable physical extent. In addition to the customary concerns of adequate isolation and suitable background sound levels, the designer must marry the room acoustical design to the characteristics of the instrument to be installed there, recognizing the distinction between practice and performance environments.