Bourdon (organ pipe)
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2018) |
Bourdon, bordun, or bordone normally denotes a stopped flute type of flue pipe in an organ characterized by a dark tone, strong in fundamental, with a quint transient but relatively little overtone development. Its half-length construction makes it especially well suited to low pitches, and economical as well. The name is derived from the French word for 'bumblebee' or 'buzz'.
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/St_Gregory%27s_church_Heckingham_Norfolk_%284233736649%29.jpg/220px-St_Gregory%27s_church_Heckingham_Norfolk_%284233736649%29.jpg)
This stop is most commonly found in the manuals and the
The Bourdon is also frequently found at 8 ft (2.4 m), especially in French organs, and is equivalent to the German Gedackt and English Stopped Diapason, which give a similar sound. Although varying between builders, the Bourdon stop is usually fairly soft and neutral, but colorful in the tenor/alto register.
The pipes can be built of wood or metal, but are overwhelmingly constructed of wood in modern organ building (French makers from Cavaillé-Coll on prefer metal). They are thick-walled and generally square in cross-section, with a high mouth cut-up to produce the fluty tone. Bourdon is a stopped pipe, having an airtight stopper fitted into the top. This makes the tone one octave lower than a pipe of open construction (they are only one half the length of an open pipe of the same pitch), and also eliminates the development of even-numbered harmonics ("squaring off" the timbre), helping to create the characteristic tone quality.
This stop is very common in
Spelling
'Bourdon' has many spellings and
Sources
- Stauff, Edward (16 January 2017). "Bourdon". Encyclopedia of Organ Stops. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.