Continuo

by Steve Panizza

Kindly find here the design premise I call that of a 19th-century 43-note continuo organ.

I base the continuo organ on a 4' principal stop whose bass pipes, like the cabinet organ, trim the facade. The instrument has a keyboard of 43 notes from F06 to B48. The cabinet fits under a 9' ceiling. An atypical design, use it to accompany voices or instruments.

Think of the pipe organ in terms of tradition. Tradition, though, must evolve to remain relevant to society today. Please think of this offering in terms of what it can do, not what it cannot do. By now, you've guessed there can be no such thing as a 19th-century continuo organ. Chamber music went out of style in favor of symphonic music during the 19th century. With this design, I evolve tradition to produce an instrument with a sustainable cost of ownership and the innate ability to invite a diverse set of musicians to participate in its use.

In designing to employ pipe scales of wider width, I can offer timbres through the blended use of recycled pipework from eras past. This approach to organ design finds attributable reference to the first organ I built as an independent builder.

Using broader pipe scales comes at a cost to an instrument where resources for an organ are limited. So there are forty-three notes. You can do an awful lot with forty-three. I've tried. Try it for yourself, and you will see. You then begin to think of this instrument in terms of what it can do, not what it cannot do.