Dear fair organ friends,

Does anybody know the exact disposition and key range/order of the famous 70 key Louis Hooghuys that was recorded in the 50s/60s by the Decca label and was owned by Albert Becquart at the time?

Thanks,

Roland

Hi Roland.
Have you tried the Hooghuys Organ web site for the information.

Regards
George

Yes I did but there is nothing on this organ..
I made a midi file of one of the pieces that this organ played
"Blue Devils march" and now I want to make sure if the notes are right..

It's a beautiful instrument , look this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exqGDsfCFXE


What a sound!! and it played extremely good at the time..

Hello Roland,

I have also done arrangements from my favourite Hooghuys organs Senior, Condor & Becquart but for standard scales rather than the original one. Bjorn Isebaert('bisebaer' on here) who runs the Hooghuys website may have more detailed info regarding the scale, as will Ted Bowman & Marc Hooghuys. There is a 70k Hooghuys scale detailed in Eric Cockayne's book 'The Fairground Organ' but I think it's for a dance organ, probably Ted's.

I hope this is helpful.

From another Hooghuys enthusiast!
Rob Barker.

Here is a picture from the Derrick Londrigan collection of Becquarts No1 Hooghuys Organ with George Parmley and Roger Becquart taken when George Parmley visited to purchase the Gaudin Organ now owned by the Show Organ Society.

What a magnificent facade this organ has.
The figures and carvings are outstanding quality,does anyone know who the carver was?

Regards
George

Thanks, this is a very nice picture!

From what I have read, the original facade was replaced by this Gasparini facade by Albert Becquart and the figures are coming from a Hooghuys model LH522.

Thank You Rob, yes it is!

Sorry, I missed this topic somehow ...
Here is the scale of the 70-key Hooghuys fair organ:

Starting from guide:
1-41 = melody
42-53 = accompaniment
54-65 = bass

1 Carillon on
2 Snare drum (1)
3 Trombone
4 Accompaniments forte
5 Melody forte
6 F
7 E
8 D#
9 D
10 C#
11 C
12 B
13 A#
14 A
15 G#
16 G
17 F#
18 Triangle
19 F
20 E
21 D#
22 D
23 C#
24 C
25 B
26 A#
27 A
28 G#
29 G
30 F
31 F#
32 E
33 D#
34 D
35 C#
36 C
37 B
38 A#
39 A
40 G#
41 G

42 F#
43 F
44 E
45 D#
46 D
47 C#
48 C
49 B
50 A#
51 A
52 G#
53 G

54 F#
55 F
56 E
57 D#
58 D
59 C#
60 C
61 B
62 A#
63 A
64 G
65 F

66 Bass drum
67 Melody piano
68 Snare drum (2)
69 Declanche
70 Carillon off

Note:
- when trombones are selected, accompaniments (trumpets) automatically play in forte
- snare drum should be punched on the beat (not 50% before the actual beat)
- when using the highest melody notes, it is advisable to support these by using the lowest melody notes too (e.g. tremolo effect in highest notes and simple notes in the lowest notes).

Important note: the above scale is for the 70-key Hooghuys of Rudy Rorive (LH590). You should check on which melody notes the carillon plays, as this differs from one organ to the other! (Sometimes they are in the mid-range, sometimes in the highest range.)

I am curious to hear your arrangement!

12 bass? No counter melody? That's a surprise!

Indeed, perhaps a bit surprising. I guess it has something to do with the fact that the genre of music played on those fair organs was far more varied than the short dance tunes on the 8-bass dance organs?!

Thanks a lot, I just send You a private message but now I found this replay.
Do You know also the exact combination of stops that are playing on bass, accomp. and melody in the forte and piano situation?

Thanks again!

Hello Roland,

See my pm :)

As I wrote, my musical/technical knowledge about these 70-k fair organs is rather limited - all I know is gathered from articles by Romain Hooghuys and oral information.