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A swallow's nest organ (, german: Schwalbennestorgel) is a form of
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''rank ...
which takes its name from its resemblance to the nests built by swallows. Rather than placed on a gallery or on the floor, the swallow's nest organ case sits on a platform suspended on a wall, with the wall as its sole support. In some churches it was wedged into the
triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...
(a shallow arched gallery built into a wall above the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
). In swallow's nest organs from the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
period, the base of the suspended platform, called a ''tribuna'', typically tapered into a point. There is generally only room in a swallow's nest for one person, the organist, who accesses it by a ladder or from a staircase concealed behind the wall.Kassel, Richard (2006)
"Swallow's Nest"
in Douglas Earl Bush and Richard Kassel (eds.), ''The Organ: An Encyclopedia'', pp. 546–547. Routledge.


History

Swallow's nest organs were particularly common in churches during the Middle Ages and Renaissance where they were symbolic of "divine music" stemming from the effect of the instrument floating above the congregation. The effect was accentuated when the organ was being played by the resemblance of the opened chest doors to wings. Its name was likewise symbolic. During the Middle Ages birdsong became equated with the song of angels. The first "great organ" at the
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
was a swallow's nest built in the early 1300s and suspended above the nave. The new, larger organ which replaced it in 1401 was placed in a purpose-built stone gallery above the west door of the cathedral.
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
used the swallow's nest organ on the east wall of the
Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...
in Leipzig for the first performances of the
St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...
(BWV 244) and the Magnificat in E-flat major (BWV 243a), but it was in such a poor state by 1740 that it could not be repaired and was demolished. The increasing size and complexity of organs led to the relative rarity of the swallow's nest type and by the mid-18th century the gallery organ had become dominant. However, under the influence of the
organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' (also called the Organ Revival Movement) was a mid-20th-century trend in pipe organ building, originating in Germany. The movement was most influential in the United States in the 1930s through 1970s, ...
, several new swallow's nest organs were built in the 20th century, and older ones were restored or reconstructed. One of the best known North American examples is in the
Duke University Chapel Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is an ecumenical Christian chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodi ...
in Durham, North Carolina. It was built by
John Brombaugh John Burlin Brombaugh (born March 1, 1937) is an American pipe organ builder known for his historically oriented tracker action pipe organs. Personal life and early training Born in Dayton, Ohio, Brombaugh (related to the Brumbaugh families) fi ...
and installed in 1997. According to musicologist Richard Kassel, the French organ builder
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ build ...
proposed a giant swallow's nest organ for
St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal ...
in Rome in 1869 and spent the rest of his life trying unsuccessfully to have his plan approved by the Vatican. The oldest swallow's nest organ which is still playable was built in 1435 and is housed in the Notre-Dame de Valère basilica in Sion, Switzerland.


In art

Swallow's nest organs depicted in paintings include the ''
Sacra Conversazione In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of saints ...
'' (c. 1446) attributed to the workshop of
Konrad Witz Konrad Witz (1400/1410 probably in Rottweil, Germany – winter 1445/spring 1446 in Basel, in current day Switzerland) was a German painter, active mainly in Basel. His 1444 panel '' The Miraculous Draft of Fishes'' (a portion of a lost altarpie ...
; Saenredam's 1636 painting of the interior of the
Grote Kerk, Haarlem The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square ( Grote Markt) in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves ...
(above); and several paintings of idealized church interiors by
Emanuel de Witte Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. Though few in number, de Witte als ...
from the late 1600s. The church interior depicted in the ''Sacra Conversazione'' has been identified as the
Basel Cathedral Basel Minster (German: ''Basler Münster'') is a religious building in the Swiss city of Basel, originally a Catholic cathedral and today a Reformed Protestant church. The original cathedral was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and ...
.Baldi, Stefano (2012)
"The Ducal Chapel of Savoy in ''Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''"
''Music in Art'', Vol. 37, No. 1/2, ''The Courts in Europe: Music Iconography and Princely Power'', pp. 57-70 Retrieved via
JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
22 February 2016 .
Saenredam's painting of the Grote Kerk interior shows the swallow's nest organ with open chest doors decorated with paintings of the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
. It also has a rare depiction of a separate set of Bourdon pipes suspended on the wall next to the organ. Like many of de Witte's church paintings, his ''Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church'' (c. 1685) combines architectural elements taken from both the Nieuwe Kerk and Oude Kerk churches in Amsterdam. In this painting a swallow's nest organ with its chest doors open is depicted behind two large columns with the congregation gathered below.
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...
(1988)
''Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Hermitage''
pp. 72–73. Harry N. Abrams Inc.


Churches with existing swallow's nest organs

*
Aachen Cathedral Aachen Cathedral (german: Aachener Dom) is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, it was constructed by order of Emperor Charlemagne, who was bu ...
, Germany *
Bamberg Cathedral Bamberg Cathedral (german: Bamberger Dom, official name Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg) is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is the se ...
, Germany *
Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (german: Bremer Dom or St. Petri Dom zu Bremen), dedicated to St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the Protestant umbre ...
, Germany *
Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly ...
, France *
Duke University Chapel Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is an ecumenical Christian chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodi ...
, USA *
Frankfurt Cathedral Frankfurt Cathedral (german: link=no, Frankfurter Dom), officially Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (german: link=no, Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus) is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It ...
, Germany *
Marienkirche, Dortmund Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) is a church in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany, located in the inner city. Since the Reformation, it has been a Lutheran parish church of St. Marien. The church was destroyed in World War II, but re ...
, Germany *
Monastery of Santa Cruz The Monastery of the Holy Cross ( pt, Mosteiro da Santa Cruz, links=no), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the s ...
, Portugal * Notre-Dame de Valère, Switzerland *
Old St Nicholas Church The Old St. Nicholas Church (in German: ''Alte Nikolaikirche'') in Frankfurt, Germany, is a medieval Lutheran church. It is located near the Römer city hall in Frankfurt's old town called Altstadt. It has 51 bells; 4 are used for peals and 47 a ...
, Germany *
Salzburg Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Salzburg Cathedral 1.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin map ...
, Austria *
Sitka Lutheran Church Sitka Lutheran Church ( fi, Sitkan luterilainen kirkko) is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sitka, Alaska. Its first building was constructed in 1843 on what is now 224 Lincoln Street and was the first Protestant church in Alaska. The original chu ...
. USA *
St. Hedwig's Cathedral St. Hedwig's Cathedral (german: St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale) is a Catholic church on Bebelplatz in the historic centre of Berlin. Dedicated to Hedwig of Silesia, it was erected from 1747 to 1887 by order of Frederick the Great according to plans by ...
, Germany *
Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
, France *
Ulm Minster Ulm Minster (german: Ulmer Münster) is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is currently the tallest church in the world. The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, wit ...
, Germany


References


Further reading

*Wilson, Michael I. (1979)
''Organ Cases of Western Europe''
pp. 21, 22, 39, 53, 61, 66. C. Hurst & Co. {{ISBN, 0903983893 Pipe organ