Contradictions in the perception of organ stop vox humana: from a bear's roar to the human voice. An analysis and comparison of verbal meaning and sound production
ENThe verbal naming of certain music timbres is considered to be a highly inventive aspect in the terminology of pipe organ stops. Most titles match the produced sound of stops, e.g. Flute, Violina, Gamba, Posaune, Trompete. Though some eloquent expressions (such as Vox humana, Vox Angelica, Unda maris), their etymology and attribution to certain organ sound present a contradictory centuries-long process. The article focuses on Vox humana (Lat. ‘human voice’), one of the oldest reed stops with short resonators, of the Regal type. Its subtle manufacture and voicing is proof of an organ builder’s excellence; there have been distinguished over 10 shapes of complex pipe scales that differ even in the frame of the same organ building school or master. The history of stop naming displays an intriguing conflict of verbal and sound perception. The origin of the title goes back to the beginning of 16th c. France, where Voix Humaine was used alongside Jeu d’enfants. Eventually organ builders in European countries adapted their versions: Voz Humana[-e] (used in Spanish organs), Voce Umana (Italy), Anthropoglossa, Menschenstimme or witty Bärpfeife (‘bear pipe’) in Germany. The article highlights the disagreement between the title and sound of the stop based on the excerpts from treatises written from the 17th to beginning of the 20th centuries. A systematization and comparison of pipe construction types that were manufactured in the 17–19th c. are presented.
