Organ Works

The Town
Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province in the People’s Republic of China. The town covers an area of approximately 300 square kilometres and has a population of around 800,000. It lies on the almost 2,000 metre-high East-Yunnan plateau, which affords it relatively mild temperatures throughout the year and earns it the title of the ‘Town of Perpetual Spring’. The town is currently growing from the north around the eastern side of the 39-kilometer long Dain Lake. We have been awarded the honour of building a new 45-stop organ for the Concert Hall of the large new Cultural Centre.

The Organ
Above the stage of the Concert Hall there is a niche approximately 12 metres wide and 6 metres high into which the organ fits. This means there is no need for sides to the case, so that the design of the front façade, createt by organ architect L. Zickermann, can relate to the architecture of the building itself.
To compensate for its very wide proportions, the design avoids all horizontal elements, so that the façade appears as a series of vertically shaded surfaces, composed entirely of front pipes and coloured round wooden shafts. The arrangement of the tops, foot lengths and lips of the pipes produces a wave-like effect of lightness and elegance, with the same optical pattern continued on to the walls of the Concert Hall on each side of the organ. The same lines focus the eye on the centrally positioned organ console. The spaces above and below are filled in with coloured panels, slightly recessed to give a three-dimensional effect. The six largest pipes have lengthened cylindrical feet to rise to the full height of the façade thereby providing a rhythmic vertical division.

The Organ Consoles
The futuristic design of the case is matched by the design of the two almost identical consoles (mechanical attached to the façade and mobile electric on the stage). The upper parts and the bench tops are supported on curved cheeks. On the mobile console the knee area is left open, allowing a view from the rear of the pedalboard. The horseshoe-shaped upper parts have integrated metal strips bearing the stop tablets arranged by division.