Characteristics of the Vox Humana’s resonator construction

ENThis chapter deals with the specifics of construction of the Vox humana pipes, one of the oldest reed stops. For nearly 500 years of its existence, the Vox humana experienced plenty of modifications. At different times, organ masters continued to experiment with the elaboration of pipe scales, the creation of intricate shapes, and the search for appropriate materials. No other organ stop has accumulated such a variety of shades of sound-timbre. The subtle manufacture and voicing of the Vox humana pipes may be regarded as proof of an organ builder’s excellence. Usually, the pipes constitute short resonators in the shape of a cylinder and/or cone, but they differ even in the framework of the same organ building school or master. There-fore, over 10 types of construction of one-section or composite resonators have been distinguished and presented here; historically established Baroque models and some cases of reed-type Vox humana construction in nineteenth-and twentieth-century organs are commented on. The collected examples feature open, stopped, or half-stopped technology with a hole, hood, or vowel cavity, a straight or tapered design, a wide or narrow shape of cylinder or cone (regular or inverted), and single, double, or triple composition of two basic forms. [From the publication]