De kunst van het orgelbouwen verbeterd (en)

The organ has played a central role in Western society since Roman times. Along with the clock, the organ was considered one of the most complex man-made creations before the Industrial Revolution. Building organs is a traditional craft in the European Union (EU) with each country adopting unique technical and cultural traditions. Organs are also expensive. A small, used pipe organ will set you back a few thousand Euros but a custom built church organ starts at €100,000 and increases relative to size.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Munich are working with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop software that can help organ builders design top-quality organ pipes.

The aim of the Innosound project was to reduce the size of the pipes by a fifth while improving the sound quality and reducing the cost - a challenge that the team met. With €625,000 backing from the EU, this unique study delves into the science behind what is described by musicians as the "King of instruments". The project has already met its financial targets with a 10-15% price cut. The SMEs designed, built and evaluated the pipes in their workshops.

Every organ has a characteristic sound quality, unique to that organ and builder. Factors that alter the character of the sound include the room dimensions and accompanying acoustics, as well as the dimensioning and voicing of the pipes. The sound quality is an essential factor because it is the signature of the organ builder and one on which he earns his reputation.

"Organ builders generally work by hand, and learnt how to build the organ pipes from their fathers and grandfathers so it's a very traditional art," says Dr Judit Angster, leader of the Innosound research group.

Organs produce sound by air moving through their pipes. They are essentially a very large box of whistles. Each pipe sits on top of a hollow wind chest that is filled with compressed air which comes from an electric pump. The longer the pipe the lower the sound it makes and the shorter the pipe the higher the sound. To play an organ the musician must open and close the air that flows to the pipes from the wind chest. This produces the distinctive organ sound.

"We are researching the physics of pipes to see if they can theoretically describe the pipe acoustics. Then we can develop software to help organ builders construct the pipes according to the sound quality or sound character that they would like to get at the end," says Dr Judit Angster.

The team has already developed software for designing the depth and width of wooden organ pipes without changing the sound character. This allows the organ builder to optimise the size of the wind chest of the large pedal pipes, saving time and money.

Far from standardising the organ sound, the aim of the three year project that was completed in December 2011, was to provide scientific, indisputable knowledge that experienced organ builders can use to achieve their tonal ideals.

With the new software at their disposal, more SMEs are able to compete in the organ market against larger businesses. The project has contributed to the improvement of the art of organ manufacturing. The consortium asserts not to have any competitor in the market. On 16 December 2011, the team unveiled a prototype organ with wooden pedal pipes and several different special metal pipes having been designed using the new software at the Institute in Munich.

Project details

Participants: Germany (Coordinator), Netherlands, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hungary

FP7 Project N° 222104

Total costs: € 948 422

EU contribution: € 624 423

Duration: June 2008 - November 2010